Fever
by Qille
Summary: Stitchpunks don't get sick. But there's one Beast still out there that can give them a fever. And it's hunting them down. Post movie AU where everyone survived, NOT a slash. Enjoy!
1. The Scorpion

_A/N: I know what you guys are saying: "Qille! What the hell are you doing! Starting a new story when you already have like 8 others you could be working on?" I know, I KNOW! But did you guys seriously think I was gonna pass up the opportunity to write a multi-chapter 9 story? NO!_

_For those of you just now joining, hi, I'm Qille. Hope you guys enjoy the story, this is **NOT A SLASH!** I thought I should let y'all know that. It takes place after the movie, and it includes a single OC named 0. But don't worry, 0 is a North American Hissing Cockroach. More accurately, he's 6's pet. If ya wanna know how 6 met him, just look under my stories. It's titled "Zero."_

_Okay, enough rambling! Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Fever<strong>

5 watched through the telescope as a dark figure moved around in the Emptiness. It was hard to see what it was due to the darkness of nightfall and the fog that had cloaked the ground, but 5 could still see the faint red glow of it's eye. It was a Beast.

"Is it still out there?" asked 9, squinting to see through the fog to the ground.

"Yeah," said 5, stepping away from the telescope. "Take a look."

9 stepped forward and looked through the telescope, aiming it down at the Beast. He watched it for a while before shaking his head and pulling away from the telescope. "I can barely see it. Are you sure 6 doesn't remember what it was?"

5 shook his head. "6 barely remembers any of his visions." Now that he thought about it, 5 hadn't seen the striped stitchpunk in a few days. "Do you know where 6 is anyways?"

"I think I saw him run into his room earlier," said 9, remembering the striped blur that he had seen out of the corner of his eye when he had passed 6's floor on the way up to the watch tower. "You should see the hall. He must have ran out of space in his room, because there are pictures all over the walls."

Suddenly, 2 popped out of nowhere. "6 is drawing pictures again?" He looked a bit too excited when he said that.

9 nodded.

"I was actually about to go talk to him," said 5. "I'll see if he lets me borrow one or two."

"Excellent!" exclaimed 2, clasping his hands together in excitement. A moment later, however, he shook off his excitement and walked over to the railing, looking down into the fog. He squinted a bit, adjusting his glasses. "Can either of you see where the Beast has gone?"

5 and 9 joined 2 at the edge, looking down. They couldn't see anything moving either, so 5 took to the telescope, scanning the Emptiness. He didn't see anything moving.

"I think it's gone," said 5, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. The Beast had been doing that for the past three days; disappearing and reappearing in the night, always staying in the same area and disappearing without a trace when the sun came up. It had been 9 who made the assumption that it was nocturnal.

"I'll stay up here and keep watch for a little bit longer," said 2, stepping back from the edge.

"I'll stay up here too," 9 offered. 5 nodded in agreement.

"It's fine, boys. I've got it handled," said 2. He looked at 5. "Remember: try and borrow some of those drawings."

5 nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"I'll let you know if I see anything," said 2, adjusting the telescope a bit.

5 and 9 nodded and left the room, heading towards the stairs. They would leave the elevator up just in case there was an emergency and 2 had to get down to the ground floor.

"What do you think that thing was?" asked 9 as they walked down the stairs to the workshop floor.

"I'm not sure," said 5, shrugging. "It didn't look as big as some of the other Beasts..."

"Do you think 6 might know what it is?"

"I know he's seen it, but like I said, he probably doesn't remember it..."

They reached the workshop floor, which was practically deserted. Papers and spare parts were strewn everywhere; the only light was a dying candle in the corner.

5 and 9 took the next flight of stairs in silence. They were both trying to listen and see if they could hear anyone, or anything, moving. However, it was all silent.

As soon as they reached the floor that 6 had claimed, 9 nearly tripped over a puddle of ink.

"I see 6 has been busy..." muttered 5 as he helped 9 regain his footing. They carefully stepped around the puddle and into the small hallway. 6 had most _definitely_ been busy.

The entire left side of the wall was completely covered in drawings. They were all basically the same thing: a large hexagon with a smaller hexagon inside. Inside the smaller hexagon was a small circle with three protrusions evenly jutting out from the center, ending at the edges of the small hexagon. Between each side of the hexagons were dash marks. It all looked painfully familiar to 5, but he just couldn't remember where he had seen anything like it before.

"Well... that didn't take long..." muttered 9. When 5 looked at him, he elaborated a bit. "When I came up earlier, only half of the wall was covered..."

"Wow..." muttered 5, deeply impressed. He looked down the hallway towards 6's room. Everything was silent. Slowly, 5 walked forward with 9 at his heels. When he reached the entrance to 6's room, he stopped for a minute before slowly peering around the corner.

6 stood motionless, staring at one of the drawings on the wall. His head was tilted to the side, and his arms were wrapped tightly around his chest. His faithful cockroach, 0, sat at his side, also staring at the picture.

5 moved forward a bit, and 0's head snapped towards the door. The bug hissed a bit, acknowledging 5 and 9's presence. The hiss, however, didn't alert 6, who kept staring at his drawing, his eyes wide.

Slowly, 5 and 9 stepped into the room.

"Hi, 6," said 9, trying to get the young stitchpunk's attention, to no avail. 6 continued staring at his picture, his mouth moving as if he were talking to himself but no words were coming out.

"6...?" After a moment, 5 tore his eye away from 6 and looked at the drawing. When he saw it, his jaw dropped. "That's it!"

The drawing that 6 had been staring at was a drawing of the Beast that had been lurking around recently. It had an elongated body with a triangular head that was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. It had two large crab-like claws and six spidery legs. It had the tail of a scorpion. There wasn't much detail in the drawing, and the edges were kind of ragged; it was clear that 6 had been trembling when he had drawn this.

"6, what is that?" asked 9, pointing at the drawing.

6 finally looked away from his drawing. "Scorpion," he said to 9. This caught 5's attention.

"How do you know what it's called?" he asked.

6 shook his head and pointed to the drawing again. "Here."

"What do you mean?" asked 9.

"Here!" said 6 again, starting to look agitated.

"Uh, 6, can I borrow one of these drawings?" 5 asked, gesturing to a picture of the six-sided symbol.

6 nodded and took one of the pictures off the wall, handing it to 5. He then turned back to his drawing of the Scorpion. A second later, he gasped and spun around, grabbing another picture of the symbol. He then turned and sprinted out of the room at full speed. 0 immediately ran to catch up to his master, and 5 and 9 took off after 6, a bit worried about his mental state at the moment. They followed the sound of 6's frantic footsteps all the way to the throne room on the ground floor. However, by the time they reached the end of the stairway, 6 and 0 had disappeared into the mountains of books.

"Did you see where he went?" 9 asked 5.

"No..." said 5, looking around. He could see 1 lounging on his throne talking to 8, and he could see 7 and the twins looking at a book with pictures of birds in it. 6 and the bug were nowhere to be seen.

5 looked down at the picture in his hands. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

9 looked at the picture and shook his head, no. "Maybe we should ask 3 and 4."

5 nodded. "Good idea." He and 9 made their way towards the table near the window; the one that the twins and 7 had been standing on. When they got there, however, the twins were gone, and 7 was leaning on the window sill, looking out at the fog, which was alternating between a ghostly blue color in the moonlight and a veil of darkness when the half moon was cloaked behind a rain cloud.

"Hey, 7," said 9 as he and 5 clambered up onto the table.

7 turned around and smiled. "Hey guys. What are you doing?"

"We're looking for the twins," said 5. He handed 7 the picture. "We were wondering if they could tell us what this is."

"6 drew this, didn't he," asked 7 as she held up the drawing, examining it.

"Yeah," said 9. "He also ran down here a few minutes ago. Have you seen him?"

7 nodded. "He had a drawing just like this with him. 3 and 4 went to go help him find out what it means."

As if on cue, 3 and 4 scurried back up onto the table, waving at 5 and 9 in a friendly manner, who returned the wave.

"Do you know where 6 is?" asked 9.

3 and 4 nodded and simultaneously pointed across the Library, towards a table in the corner. Sure enough, they could see 6 frantically flipping through the pages of an old book with 0 sitting at his heels. Suddenly, 6 whipped around, facing the window with a terrified look on his face. He quickly hopped off the table and disappeared from sight, 0 following him.

Before anyone could respond, 2's voice echoed down from above in the elevator. "Get away from the door! It's here!"

There was a loud _CRASH_ as something rammed against the door. Almost immediately, 5, 7, 8, and 9 were at the door, shoving books against the cracking wood.

At that moment, the elevator reached the ground floor, and 2 hopped out and ran over to the table where 3, 4, and now 6 stood. They were all looking out the window.

"It's here... it's here..." muttered 6.

"What's here?" demanded 1 as he climbed up onto the table with the others. He hopped up onto the window sill, took one look at the creature trying to break in, turned, and ran for his life.

2 rolled his eyes and climbed up onto the window sill to get a better look. The creature was large; about two feet long! It was pounding it's massive claws against the Library door, leaving large burn marks where it's claws hit. Unlike any other Beast, _both_ of it's eyes were red. Instead of a stinger on it's scorpion-like tail, there was a strange cup-shaped object that emitted a faint blue glow. It's long sleek body was mostly silver and metallic. There was a strange device on it's back that looked like an old solar panel, and even from a distance, 2 could hear the Beast crackling with electricity.

"Scorpion..." 6 muttered as he wrapped his arms around himself.

"Hey!" shouted 9 as he pressed his back against the door. "We could use a little help down here!"

The twins quickly jumped back down onto the table and briefly communicated with each other. 4 then nodded and hopped off the table. A moment later, he returned, carrying 5's crossbow. He tossed it up to 3, who caught it and quickly turned, tapping 2 on the shoulder to get his attention.

When 2 saw the crossbow, his eyes widened in realization. "Excellent idea, boys!" he exclaimed. 3 handed him the crossbow, and 2 turned to face the door. "5!" he shouted, holding the crossbow up in the air. 5 immediately understood, and he ran over to the table.

Once he was up, he took the crossbow from 2 and quickly went over to the window, leaning out to get a good aim. 4, who was now back up on the table, and 3 rushed over and held onto 5 to keep him from falling out the window. 5 saw how the Scorpion would back away from the door before charging forward and ramming it; that would be his only opportunity to shoot it. Aiming at the empty air behind the Scorpion, 5 waited. Moments later, the Beast backed up, right into 5's line of fire. He pulled the trigger and shot the arrow.

The arrow lodged itself into the Scorpion's side. It let out a sharp roar before turning and running off into the Emptiness.

As soon as the Scorpion ran off, 7, 8, and 9 ran over to the table and climbed up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the monster.

"Did you guys see where it went?" asked 9, scanning the hazy horizon for the Scorpion.

5 shook his head, no.

"Nice shot, by the way," said 7, patting 5 on the shoulder.

"It was the twins' idea," said 5. He turned to look at the twins, but they weren't looking at him. Their nervous eyes were looking at the stitchpunk standing next to 5. Turning to his left, 5 saw 6, who stood frozen in terror. He was pointing a shaky finger out into the Emptiness.

"6?" This caught the others attention.

"6, what..." 5 voice trailed off as he followed 6's finger. His eye widened when he saw what 6 was pointing at. "Uh oh..."

Sitting on a large pile of rubble not 50 feet away was the Scorpion. 6 must have seen it by the light of it's eyes, because otherwise it was invisible. The others spotted it a moment later.

7 quickly turned around and waved her hand, signaling for 2 and the twins to get back. 2 quickly took the twins and hurriedly led them away from the window, off the table.

"What's it waiting for...?" grumbled 8 nervously.

"Charging..." 6 whispered.

9 glanced over at 6. "Charging _what_...?"

A moment later, they had their answer. The faint blue glow of the Scorpion's tail flared with bright blue light, and a faint crackling noise filled the silence.

"GET DOWN!" 6 suddenly shouted. Without hesitation, he lunged to his right and knocked 5 over, who in turn knocked over 7, who knocked over 9, who somehow knocked over 8. They all collapsed on the table, out of sight of the window. An instant later, a faint beam of blue light shot over their heads, right where they had been standing a minute ago. It hit the back wall of the Library with a spark before fading away.

After a minute of complete stillness, 6 slowly stood up. He peeked out the window and relaxed a bit. "Gone for now..." he said.

With a sigh of relief, the others stood up and looked out the window. 6 was right; the Scorpion had disappeared into the foggy night.

"What _was_ that?" gasped 9 as he and 8 pushed the window closed. "What did it shoot at us?"

"EMP," said 2 as he climbed back up onto the table, the twins at his heels. "An electromagnetic pulse beam. Used to disable or destroy anything mechanical."

"Wait a second... You're saying that thing just tried to kill one of us?" demanded 1 as he emerged from his hiding place behind his throne.

"One of _us_," snarled 7. "_You_ were busy hiding."

"So what are we going to do about that thing?" asked 5 as everyone gathered in a circle on the table. Well... almost everyone.

"We should kill it," grunted 8, admiring his favorite knife. 7 smiled a bit at the thought of robot carnage, especially since that particular Beast had tried to hurt her family.

"Wait a second!" exclaimed 5. "Shouldn't we think this through? Maybe it's too dangerous to go after this thing."

"That thing is too dangerous to be let run free!" exclaimed 1, jamming his staff into the table in frustration.

The twins seemed to argue with each other, their eyes blinking rapidly; 4 was nodding his head yes, but 3 was shaking his head no.

"I hate to admit it," said 9, "but I think 1 might be right." This stopped all arguing; everyone, even 1, stared at 9 as if he had gone crazy.

"1's right," 9 repeated. "It's too dangerous. That thing was about to break in, and if 5 hadn't shot it, then it probably would have. And if it _had_ broken in, then it would have killed all of us!" 9 pointed at the large burn mark on the wall left by the beam. "If it comes back, then it'll probably kill us all!"

Everyone fell silent at this morbid thought. 4 slowly poked 3 in the shoulder, as if to say "I told you so."

"So, what do you guys think?" asked 9, looking around at the others.

"I think that's a good idea," said 7 quietly. 8 and 1 nodded in agreement.

"I don't think we should rush into this," said 2, stepping forward. "We need to decide who should go, and when."

"I volunteer to go!" exclaimed 7, stepping forward.

"Me too!" exclaimed 8 and 9 at the same time.

5 gulped. He _really_ didn't want to go fight a giant scorpion that could kill them from over 50 feet away, but he knew his family was in danger, and he had the best aim. He too could attack from far away. "I'll go too..."

"You should at least wait until daybreak to go hunt it down," said 2, forgetting, in the excitement of the moment, that the Scorpion was nocturnal. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We should probably barricade the door a bit better first," suggested 5, gesturing to the splintering door.

"Good idea..." said 8. He ripped a large plank of wood off of the edge of the table and carried it over to the door.

"One more thing," said 2. "We should probably all stay up in the watch tower tonight. Just for safety."

After a quick conversation, 9, 5, and 2 went and joined 8 in repairing and barricading the door, while 7 took the twins upstairs. 1 grumbled to himself about anything he could think of before eventually heading upstairs himself.

No one noticed 6 sitting in the shadows under the table. He had heard every word that had been exchanged, and he found it amusing that no one had noticed his absence. 0 sat faithfully at his side, concerned for his master. Slowly, 6 shook his head. The events had been set in motion, and there was no stopping it now.

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><p><em>AN: WHOO! First chapter, complete! Pictures of the Scorpion are up on deviantART. Just search "Qille" and you'll get some of my pictures. Just go to my page, look under my gallery, and I've got a whole folder dedicated to 9 things._

_Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up soon! Hope this tides you guys over for now!_


	2. Trapped

_A/N: I'm so excited for this story! Okay, here we go! Also, sorry for not posting this last night. FanFiction was being a ** and not letting me log in._

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><p><strong>Fever<strong>

The hunt for the Scorpion was _supposed_ to start at noon, but it was raining too hard to go outside; definitely too hard for any Beasts, who were much less resilient to water than stitchpunks.

6 sat at the open edge of his floor where the bucket elevator would normally be. 0 sat at his side and they both looked down at the open throne room below. He could see 1 sitting at his throne, 8 sharpening his knife, 3 and 4 studying one of his drawings, and 2 and 7 looking up at 9 and 5, who were hanging from the roof. They had tied themselves to the wall, and they were fixing a large leak that had appeared in the roof that night. None of them looked too worried about hunting for a Beast as soon as the rain stopped.

"This is bad, 0," said 6. The little bug chirped in agreement, and 6 gently stroke 0's back. "They'll get trapped..."

0 looked up at his master as if asking him what was going to happen. In response, 6 held up a picture that he had drawn an hour ago. To 0, it just looked like a bunch of lines, but it made perfect sense to 6.

"Should I try and tell them?" he asked 0. "They don't listen... I know they won't this time... but I can try..."

In response, 0 crawled up on 6's back.

"Okay," said 6, standing up. He picked up the picture with the lines on it, along with another, more detailed, picture of the Scorpion. He didn't feel like waiting for the elevator, so he slowly walked down the stairs with his two pictures clutched in his hands and 0 sitting on his back. By the time he made it down to the throne room, 5 and 9 had fixed the leaky roof and climbed back down to the ground floor.

6 slowly crept across the room over to where 9, 5, 7, and 2 stood. He hid behind a pile of books, trying to think of what to say. However, 0 excitedly jumped off of 6's back when he heard the others talking. The little bug's curiosity got the better of him and he went around the corner.

"Well hello, 0," came 7's voice. "Where's your master?"

"6?" that was 5's voice. Slowly, 6 poked his head around the corner. 0 jumped out of 7's arms and ran back over to 6, sitting at his heel.

"Have something..." 6 muttered, holding up his line picture.

"What's this?" asked 2, stepping forward and adjusting his glasses so that he could get a better view of the picture.

"The way out..." said 6. He handed the picture to 2 and looked at the others. "You can't go..."

"Why not?" asked 9.

"You'll..." His voice caught in his throat, and he couldn't find the words to say next. He ended up just standing there, his eyes wide and his mouth open slightly. "You'll..."

7 stepped forward and gently put her hand on 6's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be as careful as possible."

"B-but you'll... and... danger and... the Fever... and... YOU CAN'T GO!" 6 shouted, on the verge of a panic attack. He wanted to kick himself for stuttering so bad, but he was just too panicked.

2 stepped forward and handed the drawing back to 6. "Did you say something about a Fever?"

Before 6 could answer, 8's voice boomed out from across the room like thunder. "IT STOPPED RAINING!" he shouted. At the sound of 8's voice, 0 jumped nearly a foot in the air and latched himself onto 6's key. 6 hurriedly wrapped his arms around 0 and gently stroked his back, trying to calm him down.

1, 8, 3, and 4 made their way over to the others. At the sight of 1, 0 hissed. 6 quickly shushed him and stepped back into the shadows so that 1 wouldn't see the bug.

"Is everybody ready to go?" asked 1. He was met with nods from 8, 7, 9, and a very tentative 5.

Suddenly, 6 stepped forward out of the shadows. "I'm coming too!"

"WHAT?" exclaimed every other stitchpunk capable of speaking.

6 gulped. With everyone looking at him like he was crazy, it was hard for him to speak. If he couldn't speak, then how would he be able to explain why he needed to come? "N-need to h-help..." he managed to whisper.

"That's ridiculous," said 1, crossing his arms in stubbornness. "Why would you want to go? You don't even know how to fight!"

6 whimpered a bit and tried to show 1 his line drawing, but 1 scoffed and turned away, walking towards the door.

"6, you have to stay here," said 5, stepping forward and gently placing a hand on 6's shoulder. "It's too dangerous."

"Then you stay!" exclaimed 6, grabbing 5's arm. He quickly glanced around at the others and lowered his voice so that only 5 could hear him. "Coming for you... wants revenge for the arrow last night..."

"Wait a second," said 5. "How do you know this?"

"SHH!" exclaimed 6, trying to get 5 to lower his voice so that the others couldn't hear. "I saw it... It knows you..." 6 tried to show 5 the picture of the Scorpion, but 5 shook his head.

"6, everything is going to be okay," said 5. "We'll be careful, we'll find this thing, and we'll kill it."

"B-but you n-need to-" 6 tried to hold up his drawing again.

"We can handle it," grumbled 8, stepping forward. 6 gulped and shrunk back, trying to make himself smaller. 8 had been getting better at not bullying 6, but he still looked terrifying holding a knife.

From across the room, 1 shouted: "Get a move on! Let's find this thing before it finds us!"

"It's funny how he says that," said 7 as she and 9 started to slowly walk towards the door. "It makes it sound like he's actually doing something."

8 grunted a bit and followed them towards the door. 2 and 5 looked at 6 apologetically before making their way to the door too.

6 stood frozen in place, staring after them. He knew that it wouldn't be all right. He had seen it. He had seen the Scorpion trapping them and catching 5. He knew it was going to happen.

Someone tapped on his shoulder. Looking to his left, he saw 3 and 4 staring at him with wide, worried eyes.

"You remember the Fever?" 6 asked them. 3 and 4 glanced at each other before nodding sadly. "Me too..."

3 nervously grabbed 6's arm, his eyes fearful. 4 grabbed 6's other arm.

6 nodded. "It wants 5. It'll get him unless..." Suddenly, 6's eyes widened. 3 and 4 looked at each other nervously. "I think I know how to change it..." He made sure 0 was secure on his back before turning and running off towards the elevator, leaving the twins standing by themselves wondering what would happen next.

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><p>6 sat up in the watch tower, standing at the railing. He could still see 5, 7, 8, and 9 off in the distance. They had agreed to at least stay close to the Library in case there was trouble. 6 looked off towards the west. The sun would be setting soon.<p>

Looking back out into the Emptiness, 6 scanned the horizon to see if anything was moving. He didn't want to use the telescope, though, because he was afraid he would break it and make 2 angry.

"There you are!" exclaimed a voice from behind him. 6 whipped around and saw 1 standing next to the stairs, looking angry. 0 jumped between them and started hissing at 1, but 6 picked him up and calmed him down.

"I was up here," said 6 quietly.

1 nodded before turning and shouting down: "I found him! He's up here!" A moment later, the elevator appeared and 2 and the twins stepped out.

"6, we were looking for you for an hour!" exclaimed 2. "What are you doing up here?"

6 pointed out towards the Emptiness. 2 walked over to the telescope and quickly located the others. He then looked at 6. "Are you still worried about them?"

6 nodded, nervously wringing his hands together.

"Come take a look," said 2, gesturing for 6 to come over to the telescope. He did, and he looked through the lens, quickly finding the others. He smiled a bit when he saw 5 standing on 8's shoulders to try and get a better look around. It was about time 5 got a piggyback ride for once.

6 moved the telescope a bit and scanned the horizon. He didn't see anything moving, but for some reason, he found himself bringing the telescope back to focus on a large, crumpling two-story house about 100 feet away from the others. 6 shivered a bit and stepped away from the telescope, wrapping his arms protectively around his chest.

"6? What's wrong?" asked 2.

"Did you see something?" asked 1, starting to look a little nervous.

6 shook his head and went to the railing. He pointed out towards the old house.

"What is it?" asked 2. "What's wrong with it?"

Again, 6 shook his head. "Looks funny..."

"That's it?" demanded 1. "_Everything_ here looks funny! That doesn't make it dangerous!"

0 hissed at 1 to keep him from continuing to yell, and 6 looked back out at the house, nervously wringing his hands together. "Just a feeling..."

2 gently patted 6 on the shoulder before turning to the others. "I think we should stay up here and keep watch until the others get back. That way we can see what's happening."

3 and 4 nodded in agreement, while 1 just rolled his eyes. 6 took another look at the house before silently walking across the room and sitting down next to the stairs. He could still see the sun from here.

2 found a few small blocks of wood that would work as seats. He pulled one over to the ledge so that he could keep a lookout. The twins were happy sitting on the floor playing patty-cake, so 1 took the other seat and leaned back against the wall, starting to fall asleep. He then opened his eyes a bit, looked at 6, and made sure he was sitting on part of his cape. "Stay on your side of the room, boy," he muttered. 0 hissed, but 6 didn't respond. He just stared out at the setting sun.

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><p>The sun set about an hour later. 2, who had fallen asleep leaning on the telescope, was suddenly shaken awake by 3. Across the room, 4 had already shaken 1 awake. 0 was frantically running around in circles.<p>

"What is it?" gasped 2, quickly standing up and almost falling over. "What's wrong?"

3 and 4 frantically pointed all around the room, then at 0, then out at the Emptiness.

2 looked around, trying to understand. He looked around the room and out into the Emptiness, but it was getting dark, and hard for him to see.

"Would somebody calm that bug down?" exclaimed 1, standing on his chair.

2 looked over at the panicking cockroach. It was strange; 6 should have calmed him down by now. Suddenly, it hit him.

"Where is 6?"

The striped stitchpunk was gone.

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><p>Darkness fell fast in the Emptiness. The sun was setting, and the sky was turning a dark, gray blue. The only light was coming from 9's lightstaff, which he was holding high in the air, creating a small ring of light around them.<p>

"I think we should put the light out," 7 whispered, her weapon held at the ready.

"Why?" asked 9. "We need to be able to see this thing if we're going to kill it."

"Yes, but with the light on, it'll be able to see us from a mile away."

9 gulped and lowered the lightstaff a bit.

"Do you see anything?" 9 asked 5.

"No," said 5, standing on top of 8's shoulders again. "Nothing." He squinted towards the Library as something caught his eye, but when nothing else moved, he looked back into the Emptiness.

"Where _is_ this thing...?" 7 muttered to herself, getting a bit more nervous, even though she tried not to let it show in her voice.

"It should be out by now," whispered 9.

"I'm sure it's seen us already," said 5, keeping his voice low. He looked down at 9. "Can you hold the light up higher?"

"But then it'll know exactly where we are!" exclaimed 9 quietly.

5 checked to make sure his harpoon was fully loaded. "If I can get one good shot at it, I can probably blind it's seeing eye. Then it won't know where to shoot."

"But which eye is the seeing eye?" asked 7, raising her weapon as she heard something moving in the distance. "Both of it's eyes were red."

5 quickly glanced down at 7 before looking back out. "Whichever eye I hit, it's going to make it harder to see us."

"But what if-" 9 started to say something, but he stopped as a strange, scuttling sound filled the dark, silent air. 9 started to lower his lightstaff, but 7 quickly gestured for him to hold it up. The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere; it was all around them, and no matter which way they turned, they couldn't see where it was coming from. 5 hopped down off of 8's shoulders, and soon, all four stitchpunks were back to back, each one facing a different direction.

Suddenly, the sound stopped. The four stitchpunks held their breath, squinting into the darkness beyond the small ring of light. Unfortunately, the light made it impossible to see anything hiding in the darkness.

That was when 5 heard it: a faint crackling noise filling the silence. He could tell it was coming from the direction he was facing. His eye widened as the crackling noise grew louder. The others heard it too, and they all started backing slowly away from where the sound was coming from. Suddenly, a bright blue light flared up no less than 15 feet away from them.

"DOWN!" shouted 5. The stitchpunks hit the ground, and the EMP beam blasted over their heads, smashing into a large metal pile of rubble behind them.

"RUN!" screamed 7. Without hesitation, they all took off in the opposite direction of the Scorpion. As they ran, 9 turned off his lightstaff, and they were immersed in darkness.

"There!" shouted 5, pointing towards the nearest house, which was the same one 6 had been looking at earlier. They ran for the house with the Scorpion right on their heels.

When they reached the house, 8 took the lead and smashed through the rotting door with his shoulder, never slowing down. 7, 9, and 5 lunged through the hole in the door, but the Scorpion stopped, even though 5 knew it could easily smash down the door. Instead, it turned and disappeared.

"Where did it go?" gasped 9 as they ran deeper into the house, trying to get away from the door.

"It didn't break the door," 7 answered as she ran. "There's probably another way in. We've gotta hide!"

They skidded to a stop. Around them, the old house was creaking and moaning. Boards would occasionally fall and crash into the floor around them, putting more debris into the dusty air. "Where are we supposed to hide?" 5 gasped out. "We can't-"

_CRASH!_

The roof of the house moaned and collapsed, crushing the second floor. It then came down on the stitchpunks.

"RUN!" They turned and started running, but a large beam fell right in front of them and cut them off. They turned and tried to head the other way, but another beam fell. They were trapped. Suddenly, the floor gave out and the stitchpunks found themselves falling through the air along with dust and planks of rotting wood.

* * *

><p>5 slowly sat up, coughing in the dusty air. He looked around and saw 7 next to him, slowly sitting up.<p>

"Are you okay?" he asked her. She nodded, but moaned and held her head.

"That's gonna hurt in the morning..." she mumbled. "You okay?"

"I think so," said 5 as he looked down at himself. Other than a long cut down the side of his left leg, he was fine.

"Where are the others?" 7 wondered out loud, slowly standing up, leaning on her weapon for support.

5 painfully got to his feet, leaning heavily on a nearby plank of wood. He didn't see 8 or 9 anywhere.

7 stumbled forward, but quickly regained her balance. "9? 8?"

Suddenly, a couple planks of wood fell aside, and 8 stepped out of the pile, carrying a very stunned yet virtually unharmed 9. He set 9 down and went back to the pile, pulling out his knives.

"Is everybody okay?" asked 5 as he wrapped a rope around his wounded leg. 8 nodded as he pulled some splinters out of his arm.

"We're fine," said 7 as she helped 9 to his feet. 9 managed to shake off the shock, and he found his lightstaff, twisting the cracked bulb and lighting their surroundings. They were trapped in a labyrinth of tunnels, and the way back up to the surface was now blocked by tons of rubble. They were trapped.

Suddenly, something moved in the pile of rubble, trying to get out. They gasped as they realized what was going on.

Something was trapped in the labyrinth with them.

* * *

><p><em>AN: It's times like these that I like to say: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I love cliff hangers. Don't throttle me! _


	3. To Lead Us

_A/N: This may be one of my favorite chapters to write... Muahahahaha!_

* * *

><p><strong>Fever<strong>

8 quickly scooped up his biggest knife and held it out in front of him. He made sure he was between the others and whatever had been trapped down in the tunnels with them.

Suddenly, something moved out of the pile, but it wasn't a Beast.

"A little help please..." said a small voice.

"6!" shouted 5, leaning around 8 to see the smaller stitchpunk trying to free his lower body from the pile of rubble. 8 lowered his knife and walked up to the trapped stitchpunk. He grabbed 6 by his striped shoulders and yanked him out of the pile of rubble. 6 let out a small yelp of pain, and 8 quickly put him down.

"6, what are you doing here?" 7 practically shouted.

6 shrunk under her intense stare. "Knew you would get trapped..." he whispered. Without waiting for a response, he turned back to the pile of rubble that he had been trapped in. He dug through it a bit and found a rolled up drawing. He unrolled it a bit and, seeing that it wasn't the one he was looking for, carefully set it at his feet, still rolled up.

"Here..." said 6, finding the other drawing he had brought with him. He pulled it out of the pile, but when he held it up, he saw that it was completely shredded. "Aww..." He let the shreds fall to the ground.

"What was that picture of?" asked 9.

"The way out," said 6 nonchalantly. Before the others even had a chance to start freaking out, 6 picked up his other drawing and started limping down one of the tunnels.

"6? What are you doing?" asked 5.

6 stopped and turned to face the others. "Leading you..." he said, his face serious. He then turned and continued walking. After quickly glancing at the others, 5 quickly ran/limped to catch up to 6, who seemed to know exactly where he was going. 9 held his lightstaff higher in the air to let the others see before following 5 and 6. 7 and 8 were right behind 9.

Without hesitating once, 6 lead them through an impossibly complicated labyrinth of tunnels. He seemed to know the way by heart, even though it was clear that these tunnels hadn't been touched in years.

After walking in silence for half an hour, 7 finally spoke up. "6, how did you know we would get trapped?"

"I saw it," said 6, not looking back.

"You couldn't warn us?" asked 8.

"You wouldn't listen," said 6 quietly.

"How do you know where you're going?" 9 asked him.

"I saw it."

Now 5 spoke up. "That picture you drew earlier, the one with the lines. Was that a map?"

"Yes," said 6. "But it got destroyed."

5 looked at the rolled up picture that 6 was clutching in his hand. "What's that one?"

"For later..." said 6. He looked down at the paper and shook his head a bit. "Not time yet..."

5 didn't press the matter. They walked on in silence for a while longer until finally, _finally_, a breeze stirred the dusty air around them. Up ahead, there was a slight blue glow from the moonlight. The slightly claustrophobic 7 practically shoved the others out of her way before sprinting out the tunnel. They could hear her jumping around outside, which she did whenever she had a mini claustrophobia attack. 8 and 9 followed her out, and 5 started to follow, but 6's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Time now..." 6 said, unrolling his paper. It was the incredibly detailed picture of the Scorpion, but there was also something more. Squinting in the darkness, 5 could see that there were little arrows pointing to different parts of the Scorpion.

"What's this...?" 5 wondered out loud. He could see an arrow pointing to the Scorpion's tail and it's claws, but there were more. There were also arrows pointing at it's eyes, it's legs, the base of it's tail, and it's chest.

Before 6 could say anything, 9's voice called out from outside the tunnel. "5! 6! Let's go before that thing comes back!" 6 looked at 5 before slowly walking out of the tunnel, taking his drawing with him. 5 followed him back into the Emptiness.

* * *

><p>"I see them!" exclaimed 2, looking through the lens of the telescope. 3 and 4 jumped up and down with relief, and 1 kept a straight face, even though he was internally breathing a sigh of relief.<p>

Up in the Library's watch tower, 2 had kept the telescope trained on the house 6 had been looking at earlier. He had seen 6 cautiously enter the house only a few minutes before the others. He had also seen the Scorpion ram it's large claws into the only beam holding the roof up. It had disappeared when the house collapsed, and 2 had spent the next 45 minutes staring at the house until the others had come out.

"Do you see that Beast anywhere?" asked 1, squinting a bit.

"Hold on," said 2, adjusting the telescope. He scanned the horizon for a moment before drawing away, looking worried. He quickly looked back through the lens. "Uh oh..." He felt the twins grab his arms, their way of asking what was wrong.

"There's something coming for them..."

* * *

><p>"Over here!" 7 called. 5 and 6 made their way over to the others. They could see the silhouette of the Library; it would be about a 5 minute walk.<p>

"We should go..." said 6 nervously, clenching his hands tighter around his drawing. He was staring back towards the collapsed house.

"I think that's a good idea..." said 5. The others nodded in agreement, and they started off towards the Library, fast walking to try and put as much distance between them and the house. They didn't run, though, because they were all exhausted from nearly dying.

After about two minutes, they had halved the distance to the Library. 6 kept glancing over his shoulder nervously. He was still limping because his ankle was still hurting. The reason 6 hadn't been able to get out of the pile was because his right foot had gotten stuck on something, and when 8 pulled him free, his ankle popped out of the joint. He had managed to mostly snap it back into place by putting weight on it, but it still hurt. 6 then looked over at 5, who was still limping from the cut on his leg. The others seemed unharmed, even though 9 still looked really out of it.

6 looked over his shoulder again. He kept hearing something moving, but every time he turned around, he saw nothing. Slowly, 6 looked forward again but whipped his head back around. That was when he saw it.

The Scorpion stood on a large pile of rubble, about 10 feet away. It looked like it had been about to run behind another pile, but it had stopped cold when 6 saw it. The stitchpunk and the Beast stared at each other for what seemed like eternity. Finally, the Scorpion shook of it's shock and charged straight at the group.

6 screamed and turned, sprinting as fast as he could towards the Library. The others heard 6's scream, and with only one glance, they recognized the Beast charging down the hill at them.

"RUN!" shouted 5 for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. Not wasting any time, they ran as fast as they could with the Scorpion in hot pursuit.

9 and 7 took the lead, with 8 right behind them. They caught up to 6, who fell behind and ran beside 5. They could hear the Scorpion catching up. They were getting so close to the Library that they could see the others moving around up in the watch tower.

6's ankle was burning so badly that he could have sworn it had caught fire. He looked to his right and saw that 5 was also in pain, limping even worse now. Quickly turning his head, 6 saw that the Scorpion was less than five feet away, still gaining. Looking forward again, he saw that he and 5 were starting to fall behind.

Behind them, a familiar crackling noise filled the air. 6 remembered his vision. He remembered who the Scorpion was aiming at. It was going to get 5... unless...

Without another thought, 6 swerved to his right so that he was directly behind 5.

_WHAM!_

6 felt the blast hit him in the back. His legs suddenly stopped working, and he collapsed on his side. He couldn't move his legs; all he could do was watch as 5 and the others continued to run. Looking back, 6 saw the giant Scorpion standing over him. It's metal exoskeleton was crackling with electricity. Starting to panic, 6 tried to wrap his arms around his chest to protect himself, but he couldn't move his arms either. He was completely paralyzed. The Scorpion didn't want him dead. Yet.

With one of it's large, sharp claws, the Scorpion hit 6 in the chest, knocking his key aside. It then brought it's claws down, leaving two large rips across 6's exposed chest. 6 screamed as loud as he could before the darkness closed in around him.

* * *

><p>1, 2, 3, and 4 watched in shock from above. They saw 5 and 6 falling behind; they saw the Scorpion gaining on them. It had clearly been aiming for 5, which 2 had been hyperventilating about, but none of them expected 6 to jump between 5 and the Scorpion.<p>

As soon as the Scorpion hit 6, the twins turned away. 4 had buried his face in 2's shoulder, and 3 had buried his face in 1's shoulder. Surprisingly, 1 wrapped his arms around 3 to try and prevent him from hearing 6's scream. 2 did the same, even though he knew that the twins could still hear.

As soon as 6's scream cut off, the four stitchpunks ran towards the elevator, heading for the throne room. 0 still sat on the floor of the watch tower, not moving an inch.

* * *

><p>"Where did it go?" gasped 7 as they reached the Library door moments later. "Where is it?"<p>

5 looked around. "Where's 6?"

Suddenly, 6's scream ripped through the air before it was suddenly cut off. 5 turned and took off at a dead sprint back towards the Scorpion, completely ignoring the stab of pain in his leg each time he took a step. He could hear the others following close behind.

A few seconds later, 5 reached the peak of a small hill of rubble. On the other side, the Scorpion stood. It held 6's limp body in one of it's claws.

"_6_!" screamed 5. He reached for his crossbow, but stopped as something large and silver flew right by his head. The object hit the Scorpion's back right leg, severing it. It was 8's knife. The Scorpion roared in pain and dropped 6 before turning and running off, disappearing into the night.

5 practically fell down the slope, running towards the unconscious stitchpunk. When he reached 6, he dropped to his knees. "Oh no oh no oh no..." he muttered, gently rolling 6 over onto his back. The younger stitchpunk's eyes were closed, and his chest had been ripped open; one cut ran from just below his left shoulder diagonally across his chest, ending just below his ribcage. The other cut was lower; it started right on the left side of his ribcage and ending on his right hip.

5 heard the others coming up behind him. He heard 7 and 9 gasp when they saw 6, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see 8 yank his knife out of the ground and put it on his back, along with the Scorpion leg.

5 gently picked 6 up, but he realized he wouldn't be able to carry him with his leg wound. He looked up at the largest stitchpunk. "8..."

Without saying a word, 8 picked up the unconscious 6 with a gentleness that none of them had seen in him before. 9 helped 5 get to his feet, and they made their way back to the Library as fast as they could. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too late to save 6.

Little did any of them know, it was already too late.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Maybe I should explain SFCMD. It stands for Severe Favorite Character Mutilation Disorder, and it's a disease where the author's evil self enjoys torturing the author's favorite character or characters. My evil self is named Elliq, and she is especially skilled at torturing characters. So I hope that explains the rest of the story. ;)_

_Anyways, review this, or 6 might not wake up..._


	4. Awake

_A/N: I've kept y'all in suspense for long enough. ;)_

* * *

><p><strong>Fever<strong>

6 slowly blinked his eyes open, squinting against the light streaming through the window. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw that the sun was low in the sky; it was either early or late. Looking around, he realized that he was lying on a makeshift bed in 2's workshop. He was alone. Not even 0 was there.

Slowly, 6 pushed himself up on his elbows, trying to remember what happened. Suddenly, a burst of pain shot through his midsection. He looked down, and his eyes widened. There were two long cuts stretching across his chest. He had been sewn up with black thread, which stood out against his stripes. His key was laying next to him.

"Oh no..." he whispered, remembering the Scorpion attacking him. He remembered blacking out right after it cut him open, so he didn't see if it... if it..

6 gulped and carefully ran his dry finger along the lower cut. When he reached the end of it, between his right hip and ribcage, he was rewarded with another stab of pain, confirming his suspicions. 6 just sat there, not wanting to believe it. But there was no way for him to ignore it. He was going to die.

6 sighed and sat all the way up, resting his head in his hands. Should he tell the others? After a minute, he shook his head, no. It would just upset them. There was nothing they could do about it. He lifted his head and looked at the back of his right hand. He pressed down on the two buttons on his hand, and a small panel on the back of his hand popped open. He looked at the tiny, cracked screen.

_87._

He still had time. Maybe a week; but that was it.

He quickly snapped the panel shut, not wanting to look at the little screen counting away his life. He shivered, suddenly cold. He picked up the blanket that he had been laying on and wrapped it around his shoulders. Slowly, he stood up. He saw that 2 had fixed his ankle, so it didn't hurt his leg to walk anymore. Well, it still hurt his side. He picked up his key and hung it around his neck, hoping it would hide the cuts. With the blanket still wrapped tightly around his shoulders, 6 carefully made his way to the stairs, not wanting to alert the others with the elevator.

6 slowly and lethargically made his way down the stairs, leaning against the wall for support. He stumbled twice, almost falling, but he managed to make it down to his floor. He slowly made his way to his room, looking for 0.

To 6's disappointment, his room was deserted. No sign of the cockroach anywhere. He was probably downstairs. Before turning and heading back to the stairs, 6 took a nice long look at his bed, and how comfortable it looked. He wanted to crawl in it and fall asleep again, but he needed to find his bug first.

6 returned to the stairs, and as soon as he started to head down, he heard the voices of the others. Making sure to stay quiet, he crept down the stairs to the floor below. He hid behind a pile of books that the twins had brought up and looked out across the room.

All the others were there. 7 and 9 were arguing with 1, 2 was pacing back and forth, 8 was nervously fiddling with his knife, and 5 and the twins were sitting off to the side, watching the argument unfold. 0 was sitting in 4's lap, his antenna drooping sadly.

6 slowly stepped forward out of the shadow. As soon as he did, 0 saw him. The little bug hopped out of 4's lap and sprinted full speed over to 6. When he was about a foot away, he jumped into the air and soared into 6's arms. Before 6 could even blink, he was nearly glomped by the twins, 3 on his right and 4 on his left. 6 winced a bit when 3 hugged his right side. The twins both noticed this, and they looked up at 6 with worried eyes, immediately knowing what was happening.

However, before they could do anything, they were all pulled into a giant hug from 5. "You're alive!" he exclaimed happily. 2, 9, and 7 also joined the group hug. Suddenly, they were _all_ lifted off the ground by 8, who happily hugged them all at the same time. Poor 6 was almost crushed by that hug.

When 8 put them all down again, 1 stepped forward. "I'm... uh... glad you're not dead," he said. 6 smiled a bit, because that was 1's equivalent to a hug.

7's smile faded, and she turned back to 1. "I've still got a bone to pick with you!" They went back to arguing, and 9 lead them to the other side of the room to argue in peace. 8 followed them in case there was a fist fight.

"H-how long was I asleep?" 6 asked.

"Not long," said 2. "You were attacked last night."

"Do you... remember what happened?" asked 5 nervously.

6 nodded. He set 0 down and hugged 5. The one-eyed stitchpunk tightly hugged 6.

"I'm sorry," 5 whispered. 6 nodded a bit.

After a minute, 6 stepped back and and turned to 2. "What are they arguing about?" he asked, pointing to 1, 7, 9, and 8.

"They're trying to figure out what to do about the Scorpion," 2 elaborated.

6 shook his head, his mind foggy. "It won't attack again until... u-until..." 6 couldn't bring himself to finish. His legs felt weak, so he sat down right on the floor, gasping and shaking, his head in his hands. 5 knelt down next to 6 and pulled him into a hug.

"Shh, it's okay," whispered 5, gently rubbing 6's back to try and stop his sobbing. By now, the other across the room had noticed what was going on, and the arguing stopped. 0 cautiously stepped up beside his trembling master and affectionately rubbed his head against 6's leg.

6 shook his head. "It's n-not okay... i-it's n-not okay..." he whimpered, his voice cracking.

"Calm down," 5 whispered, pulling 6 onto his lap and gently rocking him. "You're safe now..."

Again, 6 shook his head. "N-n-not s-safe yet... N-not... n-not... s-s-safe..."

2 bent down and carefully placed his hand on 6's shaking shoulder. "Can you tell us why we're not safe?" he asked quietly.

6 gulped, but managed to stammer out: "I-it's c-c-coming b-back..." He gasped as another jolt of pain shot through his side. 5 picked up on it.

"6? Are you okay?" asked 5. But it was already too late; 6 had gone limp as he lost consciousness.

5 looked up at 2. "Is he gonna be okay?"

2 could only shrug. "He's probably just scared... but I guess we'll just have to wait and see..."

5 sadly looked down at the unconscious little stitchpunk in his arms. Only time would tell.

_90._

* * *

><p>The Scorpion sat on a large pile of rubble, staring at the Library. It could see the stitchpunks, but it knew that they wouldn't be able to see it. Each little stitchpunk was glowing like a flame; red against a green background. But the Scorpion could easily pick out which one was glowing a little bit brighter...<p>

That one would be it's first target.

The Scorpion looked down at the small, six-sided object in it's claw.

_My first Keeper... Master and Brothers would have been proud..._

Oh yes, time would definitely tell...

* * *

><p><em>AN: I've never written from a Beast's point of view before... Uh, anyways, at least 6 is awake... for now... Sorry it's so short..._


	5. Lights of the Library

_A/N: What can I say? I love writing this story! =D_

* * *

><p><strong>Fever<strong>

The first thing 6 did when he woke up the next day was open the small panel on the back of his hand and check the number on the screen.

_95_

6 sighed and closed the panel. He looked around and saw that he was in his room, lying sprawled in his bed. 0 was sitting at his feet. He sat up a bit, but he winced. His side hurt worse than the day before.

0 chattered nervously, rubbing his head against 6's side.

"Don't worry, 0," said 6, rubbing the bug's head. "I'll be okay..." He felt guilty lying.

6 stood up, shivering. He wrapped his favorite blanket around his shoulders and rubbed his arms, trying to rid the cold feeling. 0 nudged his leg nervously.

"C'mon 0, let's go downstairs..." 6 muttered. He limped through the door and towards the stairs. It was really tempting to take the elevator, but he wanted to remain hidden for as long as possible. He knew he had to stay isolated now.

He lethargically limped down the stairs, trying to stay as quiet as possible. For some reason, he was having a bit of trouble moving his right leg, and his hands were much shakier than normal.

Stopping a few stairs above the next floor, he listened for the others. Everything was quiet, so he ventured down a walked into the room. He was right; there was nobody there. Slowly, he made his way out of the stairwell and into the open. Daylight was shining through the windows, and he could hear the voices of the others downstairs in the throne room. He walked over to the open area of the floor where the bucket elevator would normally be. Looking down at the wide open throne room, he saw the others. 1 was pacing near his throne, and 8 was talking to him. 5 was off in another corner, pacing. 9 and 7 were talking to each other, and the twins were by the window, playing with mirrors. He couldn't find 2, so he assumed he was up in the watch tower.

6 looked over the room, and his eyes fell on the twins again. He smiled a bit as an idea popped into his mind. Backing away from the ledge, he looked around the floor he was on. His eyes landed on a small glass jar about an inch shorter than him. Smiling, he walked over to the jar and took the lid off. It would be perfect!

After looking around for a few more minutes, 6 found the large roll of aluminum foil that the twins had found the previous week. He tore a large sheet of it away, and then tore that up into a couple dozen smaller pieces. Once he had a large enough pile, he picked it up and started to carry it back over to the jar. He was forced to stop, however, when a sharp bolt of pain shot through his side. His right arm went completely limp, and he dropped the pile, falling to his knees and grabbing his side with his functioning arm.

After a minute, the fit passed and 6 regained feeling in his arm. Ignoring 0's concerned chattering, he stood up and gathered the pile of aluminum foil. He walked over to the jar and dumped all the aluminum foil in. He made sure that it wasn't packed too tightly, and once he had made sure it was all evenly spaced, he put the lid back on. He then got behind it and quietly pushed it over to the ledge, close enough to be seen from the throne room floor but not close enough to fall. Smiling at his work, he turned and walked back towards the stairs with a little more energy than before. 0 followed close at his heels.

When he reached the ground floor, he stayed hidden in the stairwell. He opened up the panel again.

Still _95_.

He started to close the panel, but the number changed.

_96_

He stared at the number on the little screen for a moment before quickly snapping the panel closed. 0 rubbed his head against his leg nervously, but 6 just stooped over and picked him up.

"I have to stay away from the others, 0," 6 whispered to the bug. "They'll be able to tell now..." He trailed off, gently stroking 0's back. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than for someone to tightly hug him and stroke his hair and tell him that he wasn't dying.

He was snapped out of his morbid thought when 0 squirmed out of his arms and scuttled off into the throne room.

"What's wrong? Too hot for you...?" 6 joked, even though he knew 0 couldn't hear him. He glanced down at the number on his screen before running off to find his bug.

_97_

* * *

><p>5 paced around nervously. It was late in the afternoon, and he hadn't seen 6 all day. The last time he had gone upstairs to check on him had been an hour ago, and the younger stitchpunk had still been asleep.<p>

_Maybe I should go check on him one more time..._

After looking around for a few more minutes, 5 quickly made his way over to the stairs. He quickly made his way up to 6's floor, but when he made it to his room, he found it empty. 6 was awake, and he was loose in the Library.

5 smiled at the knowledge that 6 was okay. He had been worried last night when 6 collapsed...

He turned to leave the room and go downstairs and find 6, but just before he was out the door, something caught his eye. There was a large, hand-drawn chart hanging on the wall. Stepping closer, 5 saw that the numbers one through nine were written in one row at the top of the paper. They were written again in a row below that, in the middle of the paper. The letter _R_ was written twice on the bottom row. The entire bottom right corner of the paper was soaked in ink, which had dripped down the wall a bit before drying.

Even more disturbing: every number on the chart was crossed out. One of the _R_'s at the bottom was crossed out, while the other one was circled. It reminded 5 of the calendar that 1 used to keep to mark off who had been supposedly lost. He was scared because _all_ of their numbers had been crossed off.

5 turned and ran down the hallway, back towards the stairs. Now he _really_ needed to find 6...

* * *

><p>The sun was hanging low in the hazy sky, a glowing orange orb. The twins were still having fun playing with the mirrors, finding the perfect angles where light would bounce off one mirror and onto another. They had successfully lit up five mirrors, and 3 stood at the fifth mirror, swinging it around to see where he could direct the beam of light. 4 stood at the first mirror, adjusting it every so often to keep up with the sun as it dipped lower and lower through the sky.<p>

Suddenly, 3 felt someone quickly tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw 6 standing right behind him. 6 smiled and silently waved. 3 and 4 smiled and waved back. That was what 6 loved about the twins; he didn't need to use words to communicate with them.

3 stepped away from the mirror and gestured for 6 to try. 6 smiled and took hold of the mirror, but instead of angling it off into the Library, he angled it right back at one of the other mirrors. Before the twins had time to question what he was doing, a beam of light caught the mirror and was reflected off onto another mirror. When it bounced off that one, it hit another one of the mirrors. The beam of light traveled all the way around the mirrors until it returned to the one 6 was standing at.

The beams of light created a star, suspended above the ground between the five mirrors.

3 and 4 stared for a minute, so stunned that they almost forgot to catalog it. Almost. After another minute of staring, they clapped in excitement, but 6 held up his hand, telling them that the show wasn't over yet.

6 turned the mirror around so that the beam of light was facing upwards towards the second floor. The beam of light landed on the glass jar full of aluminum foil. What happened next caused every single stitchpunk in the Library to stop and simply stare.

When the beam of light hit the jar, it reflected off the aluminum foil inside and cast beams of silver and orange light across the ceiling and walls. It looked like the entire inside of the Library had been turned into a giant kaleidoscope. The lights darted across the ceiling as if they were living beings. As the sun dipped lower into the sky, 6 made his way over to the first mirror and adjusted it to keep the lights going.

6 looked around the Library – he could clearly see the others because he was standing on a table – and every single stitchpunk had the same expression on their faces: eyes wide and mouth open. Even 5, who just emerged from the stairwell, was frozen in place by the mesmerizing lights.

After a few more minutes, the sun dropped too low to provide strong enough light to make the colored lights. The effect finally wore off and the colors disappeared.

As soon as the colors disappeared, 3 and 4 hugged 6 before running off the go look at the jar that 6 had filled earlier. 6 watched them run off, surprised that they had just hugged him and hadn't noticed. It was probably because they were so excited.

6 heard 0 crawl up on the table behind him. Ignoring him, 6 walked over to the window and looked out at the setting sun. He watched as the glowing orb sank halfway below the horizon, setting fast. 6 sighed, closing his eyes. A strong breeze blew through the window; it was warm, but it made him shiver. He opened his eyes...

...and came face to face with the Scorpion. Gasping, he stumbled backwards before it could attack. However, it didn't attack. He blinked, and it disappeared. It had just been another mini-vision. Breathing hard, 6 stumbled back to the window and looked out. He didn't see the Scorpion anywhere, but he knew it was out there, hiding in the shadows of the coming night.

0 nervously nudged his leg. 6 looked down at him. "Sorry 0. I just got a little... scared..." He sighed and quietly clicked open the panel on his hand.

_99_

Looking back up, he watched as the sun finally dipped below the horizon. He leaned against the window sill, wondering if that would be the last sunset he would ever see.

"6?"

Gasping, 6 jumped backwards and whipped around to see 5 standing right next to him.

"6...? Are you okay?" asked 5, taking a step towards 6.

6 stumbled backwards, holding his hands up. "N-no, I'm not... D-don't come any c-closer!"

5 stopped in his tracks. "6, I'm not going to hurt you! You're not in trouble..."

6 shook his head, and before 5 could say anything else, he turned and ran off towards the stairs with 0 right behind him. 5 just stared after them, not sure if he should be worried about 6 or hurt that 6 didn't want his help.

5 looked out the window for a minute before deciding what to do. He followed 6.

* * *

><p>6 dashed into his room and dove into his bed, hiding under his blanket. 0 hopped up beside him and nudged him.<p>

"I know, 0, _I know_..." moaned 6, his voice muffled by the blanket it was buried in. "I want to tell them, but they'll get upset..."

"Tell us _what_?"

6 gasped and sat bolt upright so fast that he nearly flew out of his bed. 5 was standing at the door, looking in at 6.

"What are you hiding?"

6 gulped. "The... S-Scorpion..."

"What about it?"

"It's s-still out there... w-w-watching us... Thought it m-might... uh... u-upset you..." muttered 6. It was a weak lie, even though the first part was true. The Scorpion _was_ still out there watching them.

"Is this what _that_ is about?" asked 5 pointing to the chart on the wall.

6 shook his head and hopped out of his bed. He walked over to the chart and smoothed it out a bit, glad to change the subject. "This is how many Scorpions there used to be."

5's jaw dropped. "What?"

6 nodded. "The Source Stealer made 20. Two for each of us." He pointed to the first _9_ and then the second. "Those two would hunt 9 and try to steal his Keeper." He pointed to the two _5_'s. "Those would hunt you."

"But they're all dead, right?" stammered 5, not catching what 6 said about Keepers. "They were destroyed when the factory exploded?"

6 nodded, and 5 breathed out a sigh of relief, but he became worried again. He pointed to the circled _R_ at the bottom of the chart. "So this is the one that's after us now?" 6 nodded again. "So what does the _R_ stand for?"

"Rogue."

That word chilled 5 to his very Source. "Rogue? So... that means it'll attack any of us...?"

6 nodded. "It can hold any Keeper."

This time 5 caught it. He turned to face 6. "You keep saying that, but what is it? What is a Keeper?"

6 sighed, sounding tired. He tore another picture of the six-sided object off the wall and handed it to 5. "Go ask 2. I'm tired..."

"Tired? But you were asleep all day!"

6 ignored him. He turned around, walked across the room, crawled into his bed, and curled up under his blanket. 5 sighed and, after looking at the chart for another minute, left the room.

As soon as he was gone, 6 sat bolt upright and opened up the panel on the back of his hand again. He almost yelped when he saw the number.

_100_

He stared at the number for about an hour. When the number changed again to _101_, he blacked out.

* * *

><p>When 5 made it up to the watch tower, he found 2 sitting on a block of wood, leaning against the telescope. He was asleep. Smiling, 5 set the picture down and gently shook 2's shoulder.<p>

"2, wake up..." he whispered. 2 groggily opened his eyes.

"What time is it...?" he mumbled.

"Time for my shift on lookout. You can go get some sleep."

2 nodded. He stood up and slowly walked down the stairs, nearly tripping over his own cane a couple times. 5 smiled and looked back at the picture sitting on the table. He would show it to 2 in the morning.

Sighing, he stood at the edge, leaning against the railing. The light of the almost-full moon lit the Emptiness with an eerie blue light. Anything could be lurking in the shadows.

After a minute, 5 sat down on the block of wood next to the telescope. He wondered why 6 was acting stranger than normal. He also wondered what the heck a Keeper was. Standing up, 5 walked back over to the table and looked at the picture. He swore he had seen something like that somewhere...

Sighing, 5 put the picture down and went back to his spot. Without any answers to most of his questions, he knew it was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>He could easily kill all of them with a single blast. It would be easy. Too easy. He needed a challenge. Maybe that was why Master had named him Rogue. The others wouldn't have waited. They were too impulsive. They would have done the killing instead of letting the Fever do it.<p>

He had patience. He could see the small stitchpunk glowing much brighter now. The Fever was progressing nicely. He watched from the shadows as the small one isolated himself from the others. That would make him easier to get once the Fever took him...

_I have your Keeper, little stitchpunk,_ thought the Scorpion. _You have five days left..._

The Rogue Scorpion turned and ran back off into the darkness.

* * *

><p><em>AN: =) I will now laugh evilly. Muahahahahahaha! _

_Okay, I know these chapters seem kinda like fillers, and they kinda are, but trust me when I say sh*t will get REAL really fast!_

_Enjoy the calm while it lasts. Muahahahahahaha!_


	6. Shadows and Nightmares

_A/N: Yeah, I know I should be writing for my other stories, but since I watched 9 again the other day, I got some inspiration for this story! Because this chapter is the one right before all the really bad things start happening... Muahahahaha! Enjoy..._

* * *

><p><strong>Fever<strong>

5 sat watching as the sun rose over the Emptiness. He hadn't slept much that night; his mind was plagued with questions. However, he didn't see the Scorpion, so it was an uneventful night. What had really kept him awake was 6. He was so worried about the younger stitchpunk. Ever since the attack, 6 had been acting so strange...

5 was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps on the stairs behind him. Turning around, he saw 2 coming up the stairs.

"Good morning 5," said 2, putting on his hat and adjusting his glasses.

"Morning..." said 5. He quickly stood up and walked over to 2's desk, picking up the picture that 6 had given him the night before. "Do you know what this is?" he asked, handing the picture to 2.

2 took the picture, squinting a bit to see it better. "It looks incredibly familiar... Have you asked the twins yet?"

"I tried," said 5, "but I didn't get much out of them." He had tried the day before; as soon as the twins had come downstairs, he confronted them. He had asked them what it was or what it meant, but 3 had covered his eyes and quickly turned away, shaking. 4 had shot him a dirty look before leading 3 in a different direction.

2 shrugged a bit. "Why don't you head downstairs. I'll stay up here and try and remember where I've seen this thing before..." He went back to staring at the picture, turning it over and upside-down a few times.

"I'll come back up and check on you at noon," said 5. 2 nodded.

5 made his way down the stairs, heading towards the ground floor. However, he stopped on 6's floor and listened. Nothing. Slowly, he made his way down the hall towards 6's room. Peeking through the door, he saw 6 lying in his bed, flat on his back. He was asleep. 0 was also asleep, curled up on a blue blanket next to the foot of 6's bed.

Slowly, 5 stepped into the room, but as soon as he did, 0 popped up, wide awake. The bug didn't hiss, clearly not wanting to wake his master, but he _did_ jump between 5 and 6, his antenna pinned back and his head low. 5 backed out of the room, keeping his eye on the dangerous little bug. Once he was out of sight of the room, he heard 0 go back and lie down. Not wanting to provoke the bug anymore, 5 turned and ran back down the stairs.

* * *

><p>6 was afraid to move when he woke up later that afternoon. He knew it was late in the afternoon because of the way the light was streaming into the room. He had been sleeping later and later each day, and he suspected it was his body trying to stay alive by doing less and wasting less energy.<p>

6 gulped. Still lying flat on his back, he slowly raised his right hand and looked at the little screen.

_105_

He stared at the number until his vision blurred, and the numbers became little more than a green smear on the screen. He slowly closed the panel and let his arms fall limp by his side again. He had officially broken 3's record. 3 had only gotten to 100 before 2 fixed him; 6 was beyond fixing... He didn't have what he needed to stay alive.

He didn't have his Keeper.

The Scorpion has it.

* * *

><p>3 and 4 were sitting on the floor in front of a large book. 4 was cataloging the words, but 3 was distracted. He sat fiddling with a pencil eraser that he had found, his mind occupied elsewhere. 4 noticed this and turned to his brother.<p>

_Are you okay?_ 4 asked through his blinking eyes.

_I'm worried..._ 3 answered back.

_About 6?_

3 nodded.

_Do you think he has the Fever?_ 4 asked worriedly.

After a moment, 3 nodded again. _Yeah, I think he does._

4 sighed, clearly remembering what the Fever had done to his brother. It was the reason 3 was no longer able to project anything.

_We should keep a close eye on him,_ said 3. _In case he really does have it. Maybe 2 can fix him..._

4 nodded. _I guess we'll just have to wait and see..._

_I guess so..._ 3 muttered. He went back to playing with his eraser, the worry never leaving his mind.

* * *

><p>6 was drawing when the first convulsion hit. One minute he was sitting on his knees, slowly drawing a picture of his missing Keeper; the next minute, his vision went dark and a fiery pain shot through his entire body. When the fit passed, he found himself lying face-down on the ground across the room, waves of pain ricocheting through his body, starting on his lower right side.<p>

Moaning, he slowly pushed himself up off the ground until he was in a sitting position. Looking back across the room, he saw a very shocked 0 sitting next to his drawing... or what _used_ to be his drawing... Scooting back across the floor, 6 saw that his drawing had been completely destroyed. It was torn to shreds and covered with ink from the ink jar that he had accidentally knocked over during the fit.

6 stared in shock at the picture for a minute. Then, slowly, he looked over at 0. Shaking his head, he hurriedly struggled to his feet. "I-I h-have to g-go..." he gasped out. "I c-c-can't s-stay here any more..."

Stumbling over to his pile of unused paper, he pulled a clean sheet off the top and quickly wrote a note on it.

"_I'm leaving. Please don't look for me. You won't find me until it's too late... Find the chink first..."_

6 didn't know why he wrote that last thing. Shaking his head, he laid the note on his bed. "Stay, 0," he said firmly to the bug. Then, he turned and ran out of his room and down the hallway, heading for the stairs. He barely made it down the hallway before he was struck down by another violent and painful convulsion. He collapsed right in the middle of the hallway, writhing in white hot agony.

After a minute, the pain died down enough for 6 to get control of his limbs again. He lay curled up in a ball for a moment, breathing hard, before slowly pushing himself into a sitting position again. He was so focused on getting back to his feet that he didn't hear the bucket elevator stop on his floor, just a few feet away from him.

"6? Are you okay?"

6 gasped and bolted upright. He saw that 5 had stopped the elevator level with his floor, and he looked like he was about to get out.

"I... I was just..." 6 stammered out. "Uh..."

5 opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, 6 lunged through the stairwell and ran down the stairs. He made it past the second floor fine, but on his way down to the throne room floor, he was his with yet another convulsion, causing him to trip and tumble down the rest of the stairs.

When he reached the bottom, he quickly stood up, leaning against the wall for a moment to get his balance. Once he regained his balance, he took off at a dead sprint across the throne room, trying to avoid being seen. The door was in his line of sight, and he charged full-speed at it.

However, at the last second, 1 and 7 stepped out in front of him and stood shoulder to shoulder. 6 couldn't stop in time, and he rammed straight into 1 before bouncing backwards and falling flat on his back on the floor. 1 barely even flinched.

They hadn't planned that, and 6 knew this because 7 had come from one direction, and 1 had come from the other. They had both seen him running and had correctly guessed what he was planning.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" demanded 1, taking a step towards 6, who was still sprawled on the floor.

6 quickly sat up and started to scramble backwards. "I-I w-was..."

"Were you about to go outside?" demanded 7, jerking her thumb over her shoulder and gesturing at the door. "What were you thinking? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

6 shook his head. "I w-w-was a-already-"

"I've had enough of this nonsense!" exclaimed 1 so loud that the twins noticed. They jumped up on a nearby table and watched the exchange.

6 gulped and shrunk under the harsh stares of 1 and 7. "I w-was g-g-going to-"

"6..." 7 cut him off. She stepped forward, and he scooted backwards, trying to keep his distance. "Just go back upstairs. You're not leaving," she said, trying to be gentle.

6 gulped, and, nodding, shakily stood up and limped back towards the stairs, his right leg hurting from the tumble he took on the way down.

After 6 had disappeared into the stairwell, 7 turned to 1. "Well played," she said, nodding. She then walked off in the opposite direction.

1 rolled his eyes in a condescending manner before turning and starting to walk back towards his throne. As he walked, however, he noticed a strange burning sensation spreading through his left arm. Looking down, he saw that there was a small cut next to his left elbow. The cut had a bit of ink around the edges. 6 must have accidentally stabbed his with his sharp fingers when he ran into him. 1 shrugged it off and, ignoring the increasing burn, walked back to his throne.

Back up on the table, 3 and 4 looked at each other nervously. It was 4 who spoke first.

_So... do you remember if the Fever is contagious?_

* * *

><p>6 scrambled up the stairs all the way back up to his floor. 0 met him at the end of the stairs.<p>

"I told you to stay..." 6 muttered, gasping for breath. 0 chattered a bit; that was when 6 heard someone moving around in his room. He quickly ran back in and saw 5 standing in the middle of his room, holding the note that 6 had left.

"6, what is this?" demanded 5, holding up the note.

"Nothing," muttered 6 venomously. He snatched the note and viciously tore it into pieces. "I already got yelled at..."

"But 6, why would you even think about trying to-"

Suddenly, 6 whipped around, a sudden anger bubbling inside of him. "Get out!" he exclaimed, pointing at the door.

5 was shocked by 6's sudden outburst. "6, I just-"

"I SAID GET OUT!" shouted 6, clenching his fists. 5 didn't move, so 6 decided to... _encourage_ him. He picked up an empty ink jar and flung it across the room, right at 5.

5 quickly ducked, and the jar flew above his head before exploding on the wall behind him. Shocked, he stood back up and looked at 6, who looked slightly deranged standing there, his chest heaving and his hands clenched at his side. Turning, 5 ran out of the room as fast as he could.

The second he was gone, 6 stumbled backwards and hit the wall, sliding down. He put his head in his hands. _I'm a horrible person..._ He knew he had to stay isolated to avoid alerting the others, but he had no idea how utterly _alone_ he would be. He didn't want to admit it, but he wanted the others to find out. He wanted someone to try and save him.

0 nudged his leg, snapping him out of his thoughts. Raising his head, 6 looked down at the little bug. He rubbed 0's head, and 0 made a small purring sound.

Sighing, 6 checked the number on the back of his right hand.

_109_

The mad dash he had made to the door had cost him dearly. Gulping, he closed that panel and looked at the back of his _left_ hand. He hadn't dared look at the number beneath that panel, but now that his days were numbered, he knew that he had to. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the two buttons on his left hand and opened the panel. He took one look at the number before quickly closing his eyes and moaning.

_41_

That number _should_ have been 70. That number was dropping just as fast as the other one was rising.

"0..." moaned 6, weakly looking over at his bug, "I'm doomed..."

After sitting in silence for a minute, 6 yawned, already tired. He hadn't had any more convulsions recently, so he hoped that phase had passed completely. He looked at his bed, which was just a foot away from him, and tried to stand up. He could barely get his feet under him before he collapsed back where he had been sitting against the wall.

"Guess I'm sleeping here tonight..." 6 mumbled to himself. He didn't have to wait long until he was overcome with sleep. His head slumped forward on his chest and his body went limp, still leaning against the wall.

0 sat next to his master, making sure he was okay. After a moment, however, 6 started shivering, so 0 scuttled over to the little blue blanket that made his own bed. He grabbed it and dragged it back over to 6, laying the blanket across his sleeping master. Once he was sure 6 was truly asleep, he snuggled up against 6's side, incredibly saddened by the fact that 6 only had four days left to live...

* * *

><p>"...and then he just freaked out and threw an ink jar at me!" exclaimed 5 as he finished telling 2 what had just happened.<p>

"That _is_ strange..." muttered 2. "I've never really seen 6 get angry before..."

"I have..." groaned 5. "Remember that time when 8 dumped ink all over his drawings?"

"How could I forget?" exclaimed 2. "It seems like he has a habit of throwing things when he gets angry..."

"Between him throwing an ink jar at me and nearly throwing 8 off the roof, I can't agree more..." They shared a badly needed laugh before 5 picked up the picture of the Keeper that was still lying on 2's desk. "Have you had any luck remembering?"

"Actually, I think I _do_ remember something," said 2, taking the picture. "What did he call it again?"

"Uh, he called it a Keeper..." said 5.

2 nodded and rolled the picture up. "That's exactly what I needed. I'm going to run downstairs for a moment. When I get back, I'll tell you what I found out."

5 nodded tiredly. "Should I go up into the watch tower?"

2 shook his head. "I think you'll be fine down here for a minute. I'll be right back." Again, 5 nodded.

2 made his way to the elevator and got inside. He flipped the release switch, and the elevator began its slow and steady descent towards the throne room. When he passed 6's floor, he caught a glimpse of broken glass in the hallway, but nothing else moved. The next floor was pretty much empty.

As the elevator lowered down into the open throne room, 2 leaned over the edge and looked around. He could see 7 and 9 standing on a table talking; 7 made some pretty eccentric gestures as she talked. 8 was practicing throwing his knives into the wall. 1 was sprawled on his throne; he seemed very interested in his left arm. 3 and 4 were shuffling through books.

As soon as the elevator reached the ground floor, 2 jumped out and quickly walked over to the twins. They greeted him with a weak wave, as if their minds were focused somewhere else.

"Hello boys," said 2 cautiously, knowing that if he took the wrong approach, he could spook them off. "I was wondering if you could tell me where a certain book is."

The twins looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and then nodding at 2.

"Excellent. I don't know the name of it, though, but I remember that you two showed it to 6 a few nights ago. Do you know which book I'm speaking of?"

3 and 4 looked at each other. 3's eyes were wide with worry. 4 gently put a hand on his shoulder.

_Remember,_ said 4, _2 fixed you, maybe he can fix 6..._

Slowly, 3 nodded. Then, gesturing for 2 to follow, they took off. 2 hurriedly limped along after them. After a minute, he found himself on top of a table with the twins standing next to a red leather book.

"What's this...?" muttered 2, opening the book. That was when he recognized the handwriting. It was a journal. The Scientist's journal. He flipped through the pages until something caught his eye: a picture of the six-sided shape that 6 had drawn. He held 6's picture up to the picture in the book. They were identical.

2 couldn't help but smile when he saw the perfect match. However, when he read the words around the picture, his smile faded. Now everything came flooding back to him. His eyes wide, he turned back to face the twins, but they weren't there; they had run off. He couldn't blame them.

Jumping off the table, 2 quickly made his way back over to the elevator. He jumped inside and turned the crank as fast as he could, lifting the elevator back up to the workshop floor.

As he made it to 6's floor, he stopped.

_Should I go talk to him..._ 2 wondered. 6 had always been difficult when it came to medical attention, so he knew that getting 6 to listen wouldn't be an easy task, even though he was sure that 6 already knew what was going on. 5 had always been the best at getting 6 to calm down and listen...

Sighing, 2 resumed turning the crank. The elevator lifted up past 6's floor, and 2 stopped it when he reached the workshop. After pausing to catch his breath, he stepped out of the elevator.

The first thing he saw was 5 sprawled face down on the floor, not moving. Gasping, 2 quickly rushed over to him, trying to see if he was hurt. However, when he bent down over 5, he heard snoring. 2 quietly laughed in relief. 5 wasn't unconscious; he was asleep!

2 gently shook 5's shoulder to try and wake him up. "5, wake up..." he whispered.

5 groaned and rolled over so that he was facing away from 2. "Just ten more minutes, Daddy..." he muttered.

2's smile widened. It was clear that 5 wouldn't be easily woken, so 2 grabbed a spare blanket and laid it over top of 5. He folded up another blanket and put it under 5's head to act as a pillow.

"Good night, 5," 2 whispered, gently patting 5's shoulder before turning and heading up into the watch tower.

* * *

><p>5 was woken a few hours after midnight by a muffled scream from a floor below. The only reason he heard it was because his head was lying on the ground. He remembered being incredibly tired, then he tripped and didn't have enough strength to get up, so he simply fell asleep on the nice comfortable floor. In the darkness of the workshop, he saw that someone – most likely 2 – had thrown a blanket over top of him.<p>

Another muffled scream reminded him why he was awake. The scream was coming from below. That was 6's floor. Quickly standing up, 5 quietly rushed towards the stairs. He went down as fast as he could in the absolute silence. However, when he reached the floor below, he ran right into 9, who had been coming up in the opposite direction.

"9, what are you doing?" 5 whispered as he helped 9 back to his feet.

"I heard screaming," 9 whispered back.

"So did I..." muttered 5, looking nervously down the hall towards 6's room. Slowly, he and 9 made their way down the hall and into the room.

6 sat slumped against the wall, shaking all over. His key was on the ground next to him, and he was clutching his lower right side.

"6, are you okay?" asked 5, taking a step towards the terrified stitchpunk.

6's head snapped up and he tried to scramble backwards, not realizing that he was still pressed up against the wall. "Stay back!" he gasped, his right hand leaving scratches on the wall.

"But 6, we're not trying to hurt you," 9 said gently. He reached out towards 6, but the striped stitchpunk took a swipe at him with his sharp fingers. 9 managed to jump back in time to avoid having his good shoulder sliced open.

9 and 5 shared a quick glance. They realized that 6's mind must have still been trapped in his nightmare. 5 turned back to 6, taking care to keep his distance.

"6, just try and listen to me-" he started.

6 cut him off with a sharp cry. "Leave me alone!" he shouted, pressing himself against the wall. Before 5 could say or do anything, 0 jumped between them, hissing. 9 and 5 held their hands up to show the bug that they weren't trying to hurt 6.

0 didn't listen. He kept hissing, his antenna pinned back. Slowly, he started scuttling forward, driving 9 and 5 backwards.

5 glanced over at 9. "Should we run now?"

9 gulped. "Yes..." He and 5 turned and ran out of the room at full speed, with 0 chasing them all the way to the stairwell. They both ran upstairs to the workshop before realizing that they weren't being chased.

"Sometimes I really hate that bug..." muttered 9, leaning against the wall to catch his breath.

5, however, couldn't stop pacing.

"What's wrong?" asked 9, noticing 5's concern.

"Something's really wrong..." said 5, still pacing. "I mean, 6 always has nightmares, but they usually aren't bad enough to make him freak out like that. Usually he screams, someone hugs him, and he falls back asleep. He never fights back..."

"Maybe he just didn't want a hug..." suggested 9, shrugging.

5 sighed and stopped pacing. "Think about it," he said, starting to get excited. "6 hasn't let anyone come anywhere near him lately. He's been acting like that ever since the attack..."

"Do you think the Scorpion did something to him?" asked 9.

5 nodded. He went over to the bench and picked up the picture of the Keeper. "It has something to do with this..."

"What is it?" asked 9, holding the picture close to his face so that he could examine it in the darkness.

"I'm not sure..." admitted 5. "6 called it a Keeper."

9 looked a bit closer at the picture and smiled a bit.

"What?" asked 5, noticing his smile.

"I just thought it was kind of funny that 6 has been drawing this thing for a while, and I hadn't noticed that this thing only has six sides," said 9, handing 5 the picture.

5's eye widened and he practically slammed his face into the picture to see it. Sure enough, 9 was right. 5 face-palmed himself. "How did I not see that before?"

9 opened his mouth, but 5 cut him off with a pointed finger and a stern look. "If you make a joke about me only having one eye, I'll slap you with this," he said, brandishing the picture of the Keeper.

9 closed his mouth. After a minute, he opened it again to ask the question that was on both of their minds. "So what are you going to do?"

5 looked at the picture. "I'm going to talk to him, and I won't take no for an answer. It can't be a coincidence that this thing has six sides..."

9 smiled a bit, obviously tired. "Just... watch out for the bug..."

5 shuddered a bit. "0 will probably give me nightmares now..."

9 laughed tiredly. "I couldn't agree more..."

* * *

><p>This was probably the worst night of 6's life. As soon as he fell asleep, he was sucked right into his nightmare.<p>

_He was surrounded by shadows. The air around him was electric, and it hurt to breathe. Strange crackling, scuttling noises echoed from all around. Suddenly, a dark shadow stepped into his view. It slowly took the shape of the Scorpion. Two other Scorpions joined the one in front of him. Three beasts against one stitchpunk. Not the best odds..._

_6 gulped and started to back up until he heard something behind him. Turning, he saw three more Scorpions. All six Scorpions started to close in on him, circling him. 6 noticed that all of the Scorpions were missing their back right legs, and their left eyes weren't glowing like the right ones. Six pictures of six Keepers floated through the air above him on a nonexistent wind._

_Suddenly, the six Scorpions charged forward. 6 screamed as the one closest to him sliced his chest open, reached inside, and pulled out his Keeper. He screamed again as a sudden burst of pain emanated from his lower right side, where his Keeper had been located. He collapsed on the ground, right in the center of the circle of Scorpions. They continued to slowly close in on him. _

_One of the Scorpions reached for him slowly. Sitting up, he tried to scoot away, but he felt his back hit something, and he couldn't get any further away. "Stay back!" he gasped out._

_He heard words. They sounded familiar, but he couldn't understand them in his hysteria. One of the monsters reached out towards him, and he took a swipe at it with his sharp fingers. "Leave me alone!"_

_The monsters seemed to all lunge towards him, but a loud hissing noise stopped them. They all disappeared, and the hissing noise chased after them._

_6 sat there for a moment, stunned. Suddenly, he felt himself falling, and the next thing he knew, something hit the left side of his face and his mind was jerked back into reality._

Gasping, 6 looked around and realized that he was on the floor of his room. He remembered falling asleep against the wall; he must have fallen over and hit his head.

Slowly, he pushed himself into a sitting position and picked up his key, hanging it back around his neck. He felt incredibly weak, like he might collapse unconscious at any second. His vision was blurred, and he was having trouble moving his legs and his right arm.

Knowing he didn't have much time, he reached up and yanked a detailed drawing of the Scorpion off of the wall. Scooting over near his bed, he reached under his bed and found a few small jars of ink that were different colors. Using black, he drew small arrows to a few certain areas on the Scorpion's body. He did the same thing using a small amount of red ink, and finally, he drew a single arrow in blue ink. Quickly flipping the picture over, he scribbled down a single sentence in blue ink. That was all he could do before he blacked out again, the picture laying discarded by his side.

A moment later, 0 scuttled back into the room. He went back to 6's side and, ignoring the heat, curled up next to him, ready to protect his master at any cost...

The little bug watched as the number on the back of 6's right hand went up to _110_, and the number on his left hand dropped to _40_...

6 had been right. He was doomed...

* * *

><p><em>AN: Well, this chapter took a while to write, but I'm incredibly happy with how it turned out! Next chapter: questions will be answered, and things are gonna get real serious._

_So what do you guys think? Is the Fever contagious? And what do you think happened to 3? Hehehehehe. This was a long chapter, so leave a long review please! =D_


	7. The Fever

_A/N: I really hope this chapter answers more questions than it raises! Answers have been long over-due, just like this chapter! So... enjoy, and please try to keep your weapons stowed away so that they don't end up flying at my head this time..._

* * *

><p><strong>Fever<strong>

He had never been in so much pain in his life. The second 6 came back into consciousness, a blast of pain shot through his entire body, starting at his lower right side. He had no feeling in his legs or his right arm, and he could barely move his left hand. He opened his eyes and tried to look around, but he couldn't focus through the pain. He did, however, manage to catch a glimpse of his pet cockroach sitting right next to him, chattering in fear.

"0..." he painfully gasped out, "go... get... help..."

Closing his eyes again, 6 heard the bug scuttle off. Knowing that someone would find him soon, he succumbed to the pain and blacked out again.

* * *

><p>5 slowly lowered the bucket elevator down to 6's floor. When he reached the floor, he heard something moving around 6's room. He stopped the elevator, but instead of putting the break on, he simply held onto the lever to keep the bucket from falling.<p>

A second later, 0 came charging out of the room full speed. Shocked, 5 jumped back, ready for the bug to attack. However, when he jumped back, he let go of the lever and the elevator plummeted to the ground floor. When it hit the floor, the impact threw 5 out, and he landed flat on his back.

5 lay on the ground for a minute, stunned yet virtually unharmed. A moment later, two other stitchpunks came into his view, looking down at him. It was 9 and 7.

"5, are you okay?" asked 9 cautiously as he and 7 helped the dazed stitchpunk to his feet.

"Yeah," said 5, shaking off his daze. "I'm fine..."

"What happened?" asked 7, looking back up towards the other floors.

"The bug went for the kill," said 5, also looking up as if he expected 0 to be clinging to the ceiling, waiting to attack.

"I wonder what's wrong with him..." muttered 7. "He's usually such a good bug."

5 laughed a bit and opened his mouth to inform 7 on how murderous the bug had been last night, but he stopped when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw 4 running towards them at full speed, clutching 0 in his arms. 3 was nowhere to be seen.

"4, what's wrong?" asked 7. "And where's 3?"

4 quickly shook his head, out of breath. He was trembling, and he looked ready to start crying. He quickly set 0 down, grabbed 5's arm, and started to pull him towards the upturned elevator. However, when 9 and 7 started to follow, 4 quickly held up his hand, telling them to stay. He then continued to drag 5 towards the elevator again, with 0 quietly following them.

When they reached the elevator, 4 and 5 quickly set it upright, and 4 climbed in, followed by 5 and 0. The hooded stitchpunk grabbed the lever and started trying to turn it, but he wasn't quite strong enough.

"Let me," said 5, stepping up. 4 stepped back, and 5 grabbed the lever, using every ounce of strength to turn it and lift the elevator. The whole time they ascended, 5 was wary of the nervous-looking bug pacing back and forth, and he was extremely worried about the fact that 4 wasn't with 3. Whenever the twins separated, that usually meant that something really bad happened...

When the elevator reached 6's floor, 4 motioned for 5 to stop. He did, and as soon as he activated the break so that the elevator wouldn't fall again, 4 swung the door open and ran out, followed by 0. Without hesitation, 5 took off after them. 4 and 0 ran into 6's room at the end of the hall, but 5 skidded to a stop at the door as soon as he saw what was happening.

"Oh no..."

* * *

><p>Only minutes earlier, 3 and 4 had been sitting in their room, sifting through their collection of books. They both knew when they woke up that <em>something<em> was going to happen that day...

Suddenly, 0 had burst into the room, looking frantic. They both stood up, knowing that the bug would never leave 6's side unless something had gone horribly wrong. 0 ran back out the door, and they followed him.

_I hope you were wrong..._ 4 said to 3 as they ran back up the stairs, right behind the bug.

_Me too..._ 3 replied.

The twins followed 0 back up the stairs, towards 6's floor. When they reached the floor, 0 darted back into 6's room, and the twins followed. They were in no way prepared for the condition 6 was in.

6 was lying sprawled on the floor next to his bed. He looked mostly lifeless except for his pained trembling, his left hand clenched into a fist, and his rapid breathing. 3 and 4 shared a quick glance. They knew that stitchpunks don't breathe because they need air; they breathe to cool themselves down.

They quickly rushed to 6's side, 3 on his left and 4 on his right. 3 cautiously touched 6's forehead, and he audibly gasped; his eyes widened in fear.

_He has it..._ he said frantically. _He has the Fever!_

4 nodded and picked up 6's right hand. He clicked the two buttons, and the panel popped open.

_His temperature is 116,_ said 4, looking at the number on the screen. _Check his pulse_, he said, pointing to 6's left hand.

3 looked at the back of 6's left hand, and his eyes widened. _His pulse is 34!_

4 started wringing his hands together nervously. _We have to go get help..._

_You go, and I'll stay and watch him,_ said 3, looking down at 6. _Try and find 5. If you can't find him, then look for 2. Don't bring anyone else, or he won't listen._

_What about 7?_ asked 4.

3 shook his head. _Not even 7. Remember, she yelled at him last night._

4 nodded and stood up. _I'll be right back,_ he said. He then turned, picked up the frantic cockroach, and ran for the stairs. When he left, 3 scooted around so that 6's head was in his lap.

_Don't worry, 6,_ he said, gently stroking his hair. _We'll make sure you get better..._

4 and 5 came back minutes later. 5 gasped when he saw 6, but he quickly shook off his shock and ran to 6's side. He laid his hand on 6's arm, but as soon as he did, he gasped and pulled back.

"H-he's burning up!" 5 exclaimed, shocked. He looked up at the twins. "What's wrong with him?"

3 and 4 looked at each other, debating for a moment on how best to make 5 remember the Fever. After a moment, they nodded and looked over at 5.

3 gestured to 6, who had yet to show any sign that he was conscious. He then gently reached down and touched 6's left side, between his hip and ribcage. Nothing. 6 didn't even react. 3 then reached over and touched his _right_ side, at the very end of the second scar that the Scorpion had given him. The reaction was instantaneous.

6 let out a cry of pain and convulsed violently, curling up on his side, his left hand wrapped around his midsection. 5 jumped back in shock at the reaction. 3 gently rubbed 6's trembling shoulders to get him to relax, and 4 gently worked 6 back into a position where he was lying on his back.

"Wha-" was all 5 could say. 3 held up his hand to stop him, and he gestured to his twin.

4 turned to the wall and projected a blank white image, as if showing that he simply _could_ project. 3 turned to the wall and squinted a bit, as if he were trying to project, but he couldn't.

5 narrowed his eye now, starting to catch on. They just needed one more thing to jog his memory. 3 opened the panel on the back of 6's left hand, and 4 opened the panel on his right hand. As soon as 5 saw the numbers, his eye widened. He remembered. _He remembered!_

In the early days of the stitchpunks, while the war was still raging outside of the Sanctuary, 3's internal cooling unit had malfunctioned, and his temperature had started to rise. Before that, he had been able to project images from his eyes just like his twin, but after 2 fixed his cooling unit, he had never been able to project anything again. 3's Fever had only gotten to just over 100, and he had been crippled by it. 6's Fever was almost 20 degrees higher.

Now 5 looked at the pictures on the walls, the pictures of the six-sided shape called a Keeper. The reason it had seemed so familiar to 5 was because he had seen 3's Keeper all that time ago. Only 3's Keeper had three sides, and he would bet his crossbow that his own Keeper had five sides.

Now that he remembered what the Keeper was, he recognized some of the things in 6's pictures. The circular object in the center with the three protrusions was the small fan that spun to keep the internal temperature at 80. The dash marks between the two hexagons were slits that constantly read the temperature.

"So that's why he's been avoiding us..." 5 said, almost to himself. "He didn't want anyone else to know..."

3 and 4 could only nod sadly.

5 shook his head a bit and leaned down towards the younger stitchpunk. "6, can you hear me...?" he asked quietly.

6 whimpered in pain, but he nodded a tiny bit.

"If we help you stand up, do you think you'll be able to walk?" asked 5, laying his hand on 6's burning shoulder.

6 whimpered even louder this time before speaking. "C-can't... m-move..." He pointed down at his legs using his left hand.

"You can't feel your legs...?" 5 asked quietly, worry growing inside of him. 6 shook his head weakly.

5 closed his eye, and 3 and 4 looked at each other. So this was how the Fever would cripple 6. It had taken away his ability to walk.

After a minute, 5 spoke up. "6, if you can't walk, then I'll have to carry you."

"W-where...?" 6 moaned quietly.

"Upstairs," said 5, "so 2 can fix you."

6 weakly shook his head again. "Don't wanna..."

"No 6, I'm not going to let you stay here," said 5, his voice determined. "I know your in pain, and you're not thinking straight. And I don't know how high your temperature can get before..." He couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence, and he didn't need to. 6 slowly nodded, understanding.

3 and 4 slipped their hands under 6's shoulders and lifted him into a somewhat upright position. 5 put one arm behind 6's shoulders and the other arm under his legs, cradling him in his arms. He stood up, surprised at how light 6 was.

He walked out of the room, carrying 6 down the hall towards the elevator. 3 and 4 were on either side of him, and 0 was walking at his heel. When they reached the elevator, the twins opened the door, and 5 carried 6 inside. He gently set him down and leaned him against the wall. 6 shivered against the cold metal wall of the bucket.

5 closed the door, and he and 3 turned the lever while 4 kept 6 upright. As soon as they raised the elevator up a floor to the workshop, they stopped and 5 engaged the break. The twins swung the door open, and 5 picked 6 up again. They exited the elevator and quickly made their way into the workshop.

"2 is up in the watch tower," 5 told the twins. They nodded and ran up the stairs. 5 made his way over to the spare makeshift bed next to the wall and gently laid 6 down on it. 6 shivered and wrapped his working arm around himself.

"C-cold..." he whimpered.

"I know..." 5 whispered, gently rubbing 6's shoulder. "It's because you're overheated."

"I'm f-fine..." 6 mumbled, wincing in pain as he did so.

5 smiled a bit. "Sure you are. You'll be fine."

At that moment, 2 came down the stairs, followed by the twins. 2 started to ask what was happening, but when he saw 6, he remembered what he had learned the night before. He quickly made his way over to the overheated stitchpunk.

"6," said 2 quietly, "how long have you had a Fever?"

6 held up four fingers.

"Four days?" exclaimed 2.

"But you got attacked four days ago..." 5 said, his eye widening in realization. It had been after that attack that 6 had isolated himself from the others. That must have been when he got the Fever.

6 nodded as if he had read 5's thoughts. "C-can't f-fix..." he gasped out, wincing in pain again.

"We'll just see..." said 2. He looked at 6's temperature, then his pulse. His temperature was 117 and his pulse was 33.

After a moment, 2 stepped away from 6 and pulled 5 aside. "I'm going to have to open him up if I'm going to fix his Keeper. When I do, I'll need you to hold him down. You know how he is when it comes to medical help," 2 whispered. 5 nodded nervously. He silently made his way back over to 6, while 2 gathered the necessary medical supplies. 3 and 4 were standing in the corner, trying to keep 0 calm.

5 went to the left side of the bed so that he would be able to hold down 6's working arm. 6 moaned a bit, and 5 started stroking his hair to calm him down.

"Don't worry, 6," whispered 5. "2 is going to fix your Keeper, and you'll be alright."

Again, 6 shook his head, his eyes still closed. "D-don't... h-have-" He stopped, gasping in pain, and his hand grabbed his right side.

"Shh..." 5 whispered. "It's okay..." After a minute, 6 relaxed again, and 5 sighed. "I can't believe you've been dealing with this thing for four days..."

"W-wasn't as b-bad..." 6 whimpered quietly. He started shivering even harder, so 5 looked at his hand. His temperature had risen to 118, and his pulse had dropped to 32.

At that moment, 2 came back with an armload of supplies needed. He set them on his workbench, which he pulled closer to the bed for easy access.

"Okay 6," said 2, "I just want to warn you, I have to cut you open to get to your Keeper..."

"B-but I d-d-don't..." 6 started to protest, but he stopped with a sigh. He moved his hand away from his side.

2 picked up a small blade. In the corner, 0 started to struggle in 4's arms, but he was quickly subdued by the twins.

"I'm going to cut along the scar," said 2 as he placed the blade near the middle of the second scar. "Just so I don't open up any new wounds..." He looked up at 5. "Ready?"

5 got a firm hold on 6's arm, and nodded. 6's hand clenched into a fist. 2 quickly cut away the stitches holding the wound together.

Almost instantly, 6's eyes shot open and he convulsed, letting out a bone-chilling scream. 5 kept a tight grip on 6's left arm; his right arm didn't move, but his hand clenched into a fist.

"It's okay," said 2, quickly setting down the blade. "It's over."

6 was gasping to the point of hyperventilation. He had a death grip on 5's arm, and his eyes were clenched shut again.

"N-n-not.. t-t-there..." he gasped out weakly. "N-n-not... n-not..."

"Shh, calm down..." whispered 5, still holding onto 6's arm so that he didn't grab at the wound. 6 whimpered, and a moment later, he went limp as he slipped into unconsciousness. 5 slowly let go of his arm and looked up at 2. "So how can you fix his Keeper?"

"Well, when 3 got the Fever, it was because the fan got jammed," said 2 as he gently tugged the cut apart and looked inside. "I assume that the same thing happened here. When he got attacked, it hit him. It probably..." 2 paused, a look of confusion passing over his face. He tugged the cut open a bit more and adjusted his glasses. "Probably... hm..."

"What?" asked 5 nervously. "What's wrong?"

2 took a slow step back and looked up at 5, his face shocked. "I-it's gone..."

"Wait, what?" gasped 5. The twins stood up, and in his shock, 4 dropped 0. The bug quickly scuttled over to the bed and climbed up beside 6's feet.

"It's gone," 2 repeated. "His Keeper is gone."

Everyone was silent for a moment. That was when 3 stepped forward and held up a picture. It was the same picture that 6 had drawn the night before, the picture of the Scorpion with the different colored arrows pointing to different parts of the Scorpion. 3 handed the picture to 2, who looked at it for a moment before handing it to 5.

5 looked over the picture. The first thing that stood out was the single blue arrow pointing to the Scorpion's chest. He flipped the picture over to see if there was anything on the back, and to his surprise, there was. A single sentence was written in the same blue ink. It said:

"_It keeps what it takes."_

"It keeps what it takes..." 5 muttered to himself. Suddenly, his eye widened as realization hit him. He flipped the paper back over and pointed to the blue arrow. "That's it. That's where his Keeper is. The Scorpion took it when it attacked him!"

"But that doesn't make sense!" exclaimed 2. "Why would the Scorpion take his Keeper? How would it even know that he _had_ a Keeper?"

5 thought back to the conversation he had had with 6 a few nights ago. He remembered asking 6 what the chart on the wall had meant; the chart with all of their numbers on it. He remembered 6 telling him that the circled _R_ on the chart had meant Rogue; 6 had said that the Rogue Scorpion was the only Scorpion left, and that_ that_ Scorpion could hold any Keeper...

"I think Scorpions were built to steal Keepers..." 5 said quietly. "It makes sense. If it stole 6's Keeper when it attacked him, then that would explain why it hasn't attacked again! And 6 told me that this Scorpion is a Rogue, and it can attack any of us and hold any Keeper!"

"Wait, so if the Scorpion stole and kept his Keeper, then that must mean it knows what the Fever _is_," said 2.

"So this must be where the Scorpion keeps the Keeper that it steals," said 5, pointing to the blue arrow on the picture, which was pointing at the Scorpion's chest.

"I wonder if it actually uses the stolen Keeper..." muttered 2, looking at the picture.

5 shook his head. "So the Scorpion has 6's Keeper... 2, how high can his temperature get?"

"Once it gets to 150... it'll be over," said 2 quietly. "It'll get to 150 at the same time his pulse drops to 0. If it's risen about 40 degrees so far, and it started rising four days ago, then it must be rising at least ten degrees a day... that gives us about three days."

The room was plunged into silence again, except for 6's occasional whimper.

"I'll go bring the others up..." said 2 after a few minutes. "Maybe they can help..."

5 nodded and closed his eye. He heard 2 limp towards the bucket elevator, and once he heard it lower down, he opened his eye again. The twins were still standing in the corner, looking sadly at 6. 5 looked down at him and saw that he was shaking even harder now, partly from the Fever and partly from pain. Looking around, 5 found a thin piece of rope. He carefully wrapped it once around 6's midsection and tied it tightly to hold the wound together. 6's shivering quieted down a bit, and 5 assumed he wasn't in as much pain now, even though his temperature was now 119, and his pulse was 31.

"This is all my fault..." 5 whispered. "I'm so sorry, 6..."

A few minutes later, 5 heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He turned and saw 9 and 7 quickly coming into the room. They stopped when they saw 6.

9 looked up at 5. "What-"

5 held up his hand to cut him off. "I'll let 2 explain it when he gets back up here..." he said tiredly.

A minute later, the elevator returned with 2, 1, and 8. They quietly filed into the workshop, everyone standing in a semicircle around the bed where 6 lay shivering and whimpering. After an awkward minute of silence, 7 finally spoke up.

"So... what's going on? What's wrong with him?" she asked, gesturing to 6, who was still unconscious.

"I don't even know where to begin..." said 2, stepping forward.

"Start with the Fever..." said 5 quietly from the other side of the bed.

"The _what?_" asked 8.

"The Fever," said 2, taking a deep breath. "We all have an internal cooling unit that keeps us from overheating. It's basically what keeps us alive, so it's called a Keeper. It keeps our internal temperature at 80 degrees. Without it, we wouldn't be able to survive for very long... So the Fever happens when the Keeper is either broken... or lost."

"Does this have to do with what's happening here?" asked 1 impatiently.

"It has everything to do with what's happening," said 5, his voice emotionless and thin. 1 actually took a step back.

2 nodded a bit and went on with his explanation. "The night 6 was attacked, he lost his Keeper."

"_What?_" exclaimed 7.

"You mean the Scorpion took it?" gasped 9.

2 nodded. "It's the only explanation."

"But.. why would it-"

Again, 5 cut 9 off. "It's because Scorpions were built to steal Keepers," he said. "According to 6, the Fabrication Machine built 20 of them, and 19 of them were destroyed when we blew up the factory. There were 20 because there were two for each of us, and two extras. The two extras were Rogue Scorpions, and they could steal any Keeper. The others could only steal the ones that they were built to steal. So the only Scorpion left was a Rogue, and it could have attacked any of us..." 5 sighed and looked down at his hands, which were clamped onto the side of the bed, digging into the wood. He took another breath to calm himself down, and he released his death grip.

"So if the Scorpion has his Keeper, that means 6 has the Fever and he's dying?" clarified 9.

5 nodded.

"How much longer does he have?" asked 7, her voice laced with worry.

"About three days..." said 5 quietly.

"Well... w-we have to go hunt this thing down!" exclaimed 7. "We... we can't just sit here and do nothing..."

"That's a great idea," said 1 sarcastically. "Remember how well that _last_ attempt to destroy that beast turned out?" He gestured to 6.

"Fine, then do _you_ have an idea?" snapped 7, whipping around to face 1.

1 shook his head. "No! It's too dangerous to go hunting this thing down!" he exclaimed. "We can't risk any more of us being lost!"

9 stepped up beside 7. "Are you seriously suggesting that we do nothing and just let him _die_?" he exclaimed.

"It seems rather harsh when you say it like that, but sometimes one must be sacrificed f-"

7 lunged forward and grabbed 1 by the throat. "Don't you dare finish that sentence..." she hissed menacingly. 8 would have stepped forward to break up the fight, but the twins were hiding behind him, holding onto his arms. Instead, 9 stepped forward and put his hand on 7's shoulder. 7 reluctantly let go of 1's neck and stepped back. Across the room, 6 started whimpering, and 5 rubbed his shoulder to calm him down.

"We'll leave at sunrise," said 7 quietly, turning to the others. "I don't care what he says-" she jabbed her finger at 1 "-but we're going to hunt that monster _down_..."

"Can we destroy it?" asked 8, his face twisting into a menacing smile.

"No!" exclaimed 5. "It has 6's Keeper. You have to get his Keeper _before_ you destroy it!"

8 nodded, looking slightly disappointed.

"Okay," said 2, taking control again, "you guys should go get ready if you're going to leave in the morning." He was met with reluctant nods.

"So who's going?" asked 2, even though he already knew the answer. 7, 8, and 9 had already stepped up. 2 turned and saw 5 stand up a bit straighter.

"I'll go too..." he said quietly. 2 nodded, and the discussion ended. 7 took the twins and lead them to the bucket elevator to go back downstairs. 8 walked down the stairs, going to sharpen his knives. 1 started to leave, but 2 stopped him.

"1, what's wrong with your arm?"

"What are you talking about?" asked 1, hiding his left arm under his cape.

"You didn't even move your arm when 7 grabbed you. What happened to it?"

"Nothing," said 1 defensively.

2 rolled his eyes and walked to the other side of the room. He pulled a small block of wood out from under his work bench and pushed it up against the wall, making a seat. He faced 1 and gestured to the seat.

1 glanced over at 5 and 9, who were basically ignoring him; they were busy trying to help 6. Sighing, he slowly walked across the room and sat down with a huff.

2 started examining his left arm as if he were examining a new piece of machinery. He almost immediately noticed the puncture wound near 1's elbow. He also noticed the slight ink stain around it.

"How did this happen?" asked 2, squinting at the wound.

1 pointed over at 6. "He tried to make an escape last night, and he ran into me. Literally."

"Hm..." 2 examined the wound a bit closer. "Can you make a fist?"

1 started to curl his left hand into a fist, but he stopped with a twitch as if the action caused him pain.

"I guess not..." muttered 2. He released 1's arm and walked back across the room. He grabbed the blade, a threaded needle, and what looked like a small roll of tape. When 1 saw the blade, he gulped. Ever since nearly having his left hand blown off by an explosion, he was very protective of his limbs...

"Just... try and hold still," said 2 tiredly, taking hold of 1's arm. 1 gulped again, and the sharp fingers of his right hand dug into the wood he was sitting on. 2 made a small cut through the already present wound; the cut was now large enough for 2 to fix the problem, but it was small enough to avoid causing any extra pain.

It took 2 only seconds to find the problem. One of the wires that acted as nerves had been mostly severed. The edges of the wire were singed, as if whatever had cut them had been burning.

"Are you sure it was 6 that did this...?" 2 asked quietly.

"Of course I'm sure," 1 choked out. "It didn't even start burning until he ran into me!"

2 nodded a bit. He reached in and placed the wire back in the right place before taking a tiny piece of tape and connecting the wires. He heard 1 give a small sigh of relief, so he assumed that the problem was fixed. Picking up the threaded needle, he began to sew up 1's arm.

"So what was wrong?" asked 1 as he experimentally moved his hand around.

"When 6 ran into you, one of his fingers pierced your arm and cut one of the wires in your arm. Apparently his Fever was so high that his finger actually _burnt_ the wire..."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means you're lucky. If we hadn't stopped it, then the Fever would have spread to the rest of your body," said 2 nonchalantly as he finished stitching up 1's arm.

"Wait a second," said 1, holding up his hands. "You're saying that that burning was a _Fever_?"

"A mild one," said 2, putting his equipment away. "Multiply that burning sensation by about ten and imagine it all over your body. Then you'll be close to how 6 is feeling right about now..."

As 2 turned away, 1 looked across the room at 6, who was still shivering and unconscious. A strange feeling arose in him; something he never thought he would ever really experience.

Sympathy.

* * *

><p>While 2 was fixing 1's arm, 5 and 9 were doing their best to help 6.<p>

"So how did you guys figure out that he had a Fever?" asked 9.

5 shook his head. "We didn't figure it out, the twins did. I'll bet they knew from the very beginning, right when he woke up after the attack."

"But he practically fell asleep in your lap after the attack," said 9. "Wouldn't you have been able to feel his Fever then?"

"It was too low," said 5.

"Well then how did the twins figure it out?"

"3's had the Fever before, so they both know the symptoms."

"Wait, when did 3 had the Fever?" 9 exclaimed.

"During the war, before you woke up," said 5. "The fan inside his Keeper got jammed, but 2 fixed it."

"I'm guessing he didn't fix it soon enough..." said 9 quietly. 5 shook his head.

"The Fever is crippling..." he whispered. He saw 9's questioning look, so he decided to tell him. "6 said he couldn't feel his legs, so if he lives through this, he might not be able to walk again..."

9's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

"I'm dead serious," said 5 gravely. "I had to carry him up here because he couldn't walk..."

9 shook his head, and they were silent for a minute. 6 whimpered and 5 gently stroked his hair to calm him down.

"So..." 9 quietly said after a minute, "how do you know how much time he has left..."

"Well, according to 2, his temperature keeps going up about ten degrees ever day, and his pulse keeps dropping at the same rate," said 5.

"Okay, two questions," said 9. "First, how do you know what his temperature is, and second, what do you mean by _pulse_?"

Instead of answering the first question, 5 reached over and popped open the panel on the back of 6's right hand, the one showing his temperature. It was now up to 120.

"Whoa..." muttered 9, suddenly fascinated by the hidden panel. He looked down at his own hand and experimentally pressed on each side of the cut wood on the back of his hand. A small panel popped open, nearly making 9 squeal. The screen on the back of his hand wasn't cracked or dirty, and the green number read 80.

9 shook off his excitement at discovering this new addition and, closing the panel, he turned his attention back to 6.

"So how do you know how high his temperature can get?" he asked.

"2 found it in the Scientist's journal," said 5, "along with pictures of all of our own Keepers..."

"Okay," said 9, "so what's a pulse?"

Now 5 opened the panel on 6's left hand. The number was 30. "A pulse is like a heartbeat," he explained. "Everything mechanical emits some type of pulse when they're functioning, so a pulse basically shows that you're still alive and how well you're working. If your pulse drops to zero, then that means you died..."

"How do you know all this...?" asked 9, his voice containing a hint of admiration.

5 shrugged weakly. "I've been repeating myself a lot lately..."

At that moment, 2 came over, having finished fixing 1's arm. "How's he doing?"

"His Fever is still going up..." said 5 quietly.

At that moment, 6 started moaning again, and his breathing accelerated. His Fever jumped up to 121. Suddenly, 6 regained consciousness. He sat bolt upright with a cry of pain and, now regaining use of his right arm, latched himself onto the closest stitchpunk, which happened to be 5.

"P-p-p-please..." he sobbed, shaking so violently that 5 was sure he was having convulsions.

"Shh, it's okay," whispered 5, kneeling on the bed next to 6 so that the younger stitchpunk was in a slightly more comfortable position, and so that his open wound wasn't being stressed.

6 shook his head before burying his face into 5's shoulder. "D-d-d-don't l-l-let m-me d-d-die... P-p-p-please... p-please..." he continued sobbing.

"Shh, don't worry," 5 whispered. "We won't let you die. We're going to save you..." 6's breathing started to slow down a bit.

"H-h-he w-was g-g-going to l-let m-me d-d-die..." 6 moaned. He started shivering a bit harder. At that moment, 5 sent a death glare at 1, who quickly left the room with guilt clouding his expression.

"Don't worry," 5 said quietly, "we're going to save you..."

This seemed to calm 6 down a bit. He slowly let go of 5 and laid back down, curling up on his side. A moment later, he was asleep again. 5 sighed and slowly stood back up. The room was again immersed in a silence so thick that 5 felt ready to drown in it.

A few minutes later, the sound of the elevator rising could be heard. 5, 9, and 2 all looked towards the elevator shaft. When it reached the workshop floor a moment later, they saw the twins inside. They both stopped turning the crank, and 4 pulled down the lever to activate the breaks. They then swung the door open and started to carry out a small jar, filled with water. 9 and 5 quickly went over and took the heavy jar, helping the twins bring it over beside the bed. 4 and 9 quietly unscrewed the lid, while 3 went back to the elevator and picked up a few shreds of cloth, bringing them back into the room.

5 took the cloth from 3 and dipped them into the cool water. He then wrung the cloth out before gently placing it on 6's forehead. 6 sighed a bit, and his shivering lessened slightly. 5 looked at his temperature and saw that it had at least dropped back down to 120. For now.

2 gently patted the twins on the shoulder. "Good idea, boys..." he said quietly. He then looked back up at 9 and 5. "That's all we can do for him for now. Just try and keep him cool and keep him alive..."

They nodded somberly.

5 sighed and looked down at the unconscious little stitchpunk. He just looked so small and helpless laying there...

_Don't worry, 6,_ he thought sadly. _We'll keep you alive..._

* * *

><p>The others had noticed the Fever. He knew that this would happen, and he was surprised it hadn't happened sooner. Either way, better late than never.<p>

The little stitchpunk was glowing white hot; the Fever had surely crippled him by now, and then the others would be coming to hunt for the missing Keeper.

An evil smile crossed the Scorpion's hideous face. Even if they _did_ manage to kill him and save their friend, it would mean their doom anyways. Because the process had already been complete. Now all they needed were hosts...

_Let the hunt begin..._ thought the Scorpion before turning and scuttling back into the darkness of the night...

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hey guys, Qille's evil self here. My name's Elliq for those of you who don't know. Let me just say that this chapter gave Qille a lot of anxiety, so I had to take over writing it at some parts. Sorry it took us so long, but Qille kept having little breakdowns while writing how much pain 6 was in, and it's kinda made her a bit more unstable than usual. At the moment, she's sitting in a corner rocking back and forth... so yeah. I've never seen a dying character hurt her this much! She must reeeaaaallly be in love with 6!_

_Qille (screaming from corner): IT'S BECAUSE HE'S ONLY A CHILD! WHY MUST THE ADORABLE ALWAYS DIE YOUNG!_

_See what I mean? Well, hopefully I'll get her back to her normal psychotic self, so... It may be a while... But we've got this crazy long chapter up, so enjoy that. I'm just warning you that it may take a bit of time. So... see ya later! Maybe!_


	8. Soul

_A/N: I am SO SORRY for taking an ungodly amount of time to update! You know how, at the end of the school year, they make you take all those exams? Yeah... well screw them. Plus... I had a bit of writer's block. But the school year is finally over so anyways... here we go!_

* * *

><p><strong>Fever<strong>

The nights had always been the hardest, even before he had gotten sick. In the dark, his visions merged with his nightmares, which was why he rarely slept at night. But now that his Fever was burning stronger than ever, there was no escaping the nightmares. The Fever kept him in a constant delirium, and all he could see of the others were shadowy figures. Whenever they got near him, he would wince away, terrified. He could hear their voices, but he couldn't understand them. Whenever the Fever would cause him pain, however, one of the shadows would lean over him and whisper soothing words to calm him down.

He knew that the others would leave at sunrise to find his Keeper; he saw that in the visions. It helped, knowing that the others had a chance at finding his Keeper and saving his life, but it didn't make the nights any less hellish.

* * *

><p>6 had been slipping in and out of consciousness all night. His temperature was <em>122<em>, and his pulse was _28_. His time was running out fast.

5 stayed by 6's side all night. Whenever 6 would whimper or moan from the pain of his Fever, 5 would calm him down, stroking his hair or whispering soothing words until he fell back asleep.

Around two in the morning, 5 fell asleep. He was woken up three hours later by the twins.

"I-is everything okay?" 5 asked groggily. He looked over at 6 and saw that the younger stitchpunk was still asleep. He was shivering, but he didn't look to be in any pain.

3 and 4 looked at each other nervously. Turning to 5, they gestured for him to come with them. 5 stood up from the block of wood he had been sitting on and followed the twins up to the watch tower.

When they reached the watch tower, 5 saw that it was still an hour until sunrise. The twins quickly pulled 5 over to the telescope and started to frantically point down.

"What's wrong?" asked 5 as he adjusted the telescope to focus on where the twins were pointing. When he did focus, however, he jumped back in shock and quickly joined the twins at the rail.

The Scorpion stood at the door of the Library nearly 60 feet below. It wasn't attacking, however. It was simply... watching. It was watching _them_.

5 gulped, but his fear was almost immediately replaced by anger. This was the monster that was causing 6 so much pain. This was the monster that was killing him. If 5 could drop something heavy on it, then he would, but if the Scorpion was destroyed, then 6's fragile Keeper would be lost, and so would 6.

"What does it want?" growled 5, frustrated beyond belief that the Scorpion was just _sitting_ there _taunting_ them!

Then the Scorpion moved. It raised it's massive metal claw up in the air so that it was pointing up at 5 and the twins. Then it waved at them.

5 twitched a bit.

The Scorpion turned and ran back into the darkness.

"I am going to kill that freaking metal bug," snarled 5.

_Technically, it's an arachnid made from a conductive solar panel,_ 4 said to 3.

5 turned to the twins. "Do you know how long it was sitting there?" he asked.

The twins shrugged.

5 sighed and started pacing. "It could have broken in if it wanted to... so why didn't it?" 5 stopped pacing and turned to face the twins. "Actually, it could have killed any of us at any time! It's has that EMP thing, and it's strong enough to break in!"

5 walked back over to the rail and looked out at the Emptiness. The Scorpion was out there somewhere with 6's Keeper. "So why hasn't it...?"

* * *

><p>It's all a game.<p>

That was the reason the Scorpion didn't attack. He would let the stitchpunks find him. He would fight them, but in the end he knew he would win his own game. Even if they killed him and saved their friend, he would still win.

He had sat outside the Library door all night, watching the stitchpunks inside. He saw that they were keeping the small dying one up near the top of the Library, which would make his job a bit more difficult, but not by much. His spidery legs were serrated, so climbing would be easy.

It was almost time for him to sleep when the two identical ones spotted him. He saw them run and bring the one-eyed one. When they spotted him, he decided to have a little bit of fun...

Waving made the one-eyed one very angry.

_Good._

Turning, he saw that the sun was starting to come up, and it was time for him to sleep. He had to be well rested if he wanted to win his game. He ran back towards the collapsed building that he liked to hide in.

He had a plan for later.

He was going to win. No matter what.

* * *

><p>When 5 and the twins came back down into the workshop, they saw that 6 was awake. 5 quickly went over to him and sat down on his block of wood.<p>

"Hey 6..." he said quietly.

"Hey..." 6 mumbled quietly, weakly turning his head to look at 5.

"How do you feel?" asked 5. "Does your side still hurt?"

6 looked down at the open wound on his stomach. He slowly shook his head. "Can't f-feel it... anymore... Can't feel anything..."

5's eye widened in alarm. "What do you mean you can't feel it? Do you mean it stopped hurting, or can you not feel anything?"

"Nothing..." whimpered 6. He reached down and touched his side. "Nothing..."

5 shook his head a bit. He turned around and faced the twins. "Go find 2..." he said. The twins nodded and ran towards the stairs. Once they disappeared, 5 turned back to 6. "Where does the feeling end?" he asked.

6 placed one finger at the base of his neck and started to move it down his chest, testing what he could still feel. He stopped his finger at an area around the center of his chest, just below his voice apparatus. "Here..." he said quietly.

5 nodded a bit. "Let me check your temperature," he said, picking up 6's limp right hand. He opened the panel and grimaced. 6's temperature was _123_. He looked at 6's left hand and saw that his pulse was _27_.

"That bad, huh?" 6 asked tiredly, seeing the look on 5's face.

5 shook his head and closed the panel. He picked up the piece of cloth that the twins had found last night and dipped it into the jar of water. He wrung it out a bit and laid it on 6's forehead. 6 shivered a bit.

"I'm cold..." whimpered 6.

"I know," 5 sighed. "I would give you a blanket, but you have to stay cool."

6 sighed and went back to stroking 0, who was still sleeping by his side.

After a minute, 5 spoke up. "So... why didn't you tell us that you were sick...?" he asked. "If you had just said something, then we would have had more time to find the Scorpion and your Keeper..."

6 looked away guiltily. "Didn't want you to worry..." he whispered.

5 smiled sadly. He opened his mouth to speak, but right at that moment, 6 started coughing convulsively. His coughs were enough to wake up 0; the bug jumped to his feet and started nudging 6's shaking side. 5 helped 6 into an upright position, and after a few minutes, the coughing stopped. 6 collapsed back on the bed, his eyes closed and his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay," whispered 5 as he wet the cloth again and placed it back on 6's burning forehead. "You're okay..."

6's breathing slowed back to normal after a minute, but he was still shaking. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes and looked at 5. "I'm fine..." he whimpered.

5 didn't respond. He was too shocked. 6 saw this, and his eyes grew wide with worry. "W-what's wrong...?"

"Y-you look... _green_!" exclaimed 5.

It was true. The fabric of 6's face was tinged slightly green, and his eyes were glazed over with a green haze.

6 held up his hand. In the reflection of his ink nib fingers, he could see the slight green tinge in his fabric. "Source..." he muttered, too quiet for 5 to hear.

A minute later, the green suddenly disappeared, leaving 6's fabric and optics the same color as before the coughing fit.

"What happened?" exclaimed 5.

6 quickly shook his head. "I-if it happens again, I'll t-tell you..."

5 opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, 2 and the twins came up the stairs. 2 immediately went over to 6.

"Good morning," he said to the striped stitchpunk. 6 nodded weakly.

"So," said 2, "will you tell me what's wrong?"

6 pointed to his chest, and then down at his legs. "Can't feel..." he said quietly, his voice somewhat raspy.

2 nodded a bit. "That means the paralysis is spreading. I don't want to scare you, but if it spreads any further, you won't be able to speak."

6 slowly nodded, understanding. "It won't spread..." he mumbled.

"How do you know?" 5 asked quietly.

"Saw it..." 6 said. "And... I have more to say..."

With that, 6 closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

5 let out a small sigh. He wet the cloth again and started dabbing 6's forehead with it, trying to stop 6's shaking.

"5," said 2 a moment later. 5 looked up and saw that 2 was looking out the window. The sun had just broken the horizon. "I'll go get the others."

5 nodded, and 2 went down the stairs. The twins looked at each other for a moment before following 2.

After a minute, 5 wet the cloth again and laid it on 6's forehead. A minute later, he sighed and, closing his eye, rested his head in his hands.

As soon as 5 closed his eye, however, 6 let out a long sigh, and a small wisp of what looked like bright green smoke floated out of his mouth. It hovered in the air above him for a moment before disappearing.

The Fever was tearing 6's soul apart.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, 2 returned with the other stitchpunks. By that time, the sky outside had clouded over with gloomy gray clouds. The air was still and the mood was somber.<p>

The other stitchpunks filed silently into the workshop room and formed a semicircle around the bed, where 6 still lay unconscious. 5 stood up when the others came in and stood by the head of 6's bed. He gently shook 6 by his burning shoulder, waking him up.

"6, wake up," he whispered.

After a minute, 6 slowly blinked his eyes open. "I'm awake..." he mumbled, his voice barely more than a whisper.

5 breathed a sigh of relief, worried about the delay between 6 waking up and opening his eyes. The Fever was definitely taking it's toll; 6 was getting weaker.

"W-what's going on...?" asked 6 quietly.

"We're about to leave," said 7.

"W-where?" asked 6, his eyes focusing as he woke up a bit more.

"To look for the Scorpion," said 9. "We're going to get your Keeper back."

A small, pained smile crept onto 6's face. "Thanks..." he mumbled, his voice so quiet that the word was barely audible.

8 slowly stepped forward. He reached out and gave 6 a gentle pat on the head. "Good luck," he grumbled.

"You too..." said 6, smiling at the giant's rare act of kindness.

7 stepped forward next. She knelt down on the bed next to 6 and gently hugged him. After a minute, she kissed him on the forehead before standing up and returning to her spot in the circle.

Next 9 stepped up. He started to say something, but 6 grabbed his left hand. One of his inky fingers moved across 9's palm for a moment, and when 9 looked at his hand, he saw a roughly drawn picture of the Keeper on it.

"D-don't get lost..." 6 whimpered.

"Lost...? But how would we-"

9 was cut off by 6. The striped stitchpunk's eyes shot open all the way and he gasped as if he just realized something. 6 reached past 9 and grabbed something off of the table next to the bed. It was his picture of the Scorpion.

"There..." he gasped, pointing to the Scorpion's right eye, which also had a red arrow drawn next to it. "T-this one... You have to d-destroy _this_ eye..."

"Why that one?" asked 5, leaning over 6's shoulder.

6 dizzily shook his head. "H-has to be that one..." he whispered tiredly.

5 nodded. "If it gets close enough, I'll be able to shoot it," he said.

6 whipped his head around to face 5, his eyes wide with worry. "N-not you..." he gasped out. "Y-you can't go! N-not this time!" 6 let go of the picture and grabbed 5's arm. "Please, n-no! Y-you _have_ to stay!"

"But 6, I have to help!" exclaimed 5.

6's grip on 5's arm tightened. "N-not after what h-happened last time?"

5 froze, his eye wide. He couldn't ignore 6's warnings again. Not after what happened the last time he did. He had gone on the hunt and ignored 6 once, and now 6 was dying because of it. He couldn't ignore him this time. He had to listen.

"Okay," 5 said quietly. "I'll stay. I promise..."

6 breathed a sigh of relief and released his death grip on 5's arm. 5 looked at the others, and 7 nodded, telling him it was okay.

"We should go..." said 8, awkwardly gesturing to the elevator.

"Agreed," said 1, opening the elevator door and stepping in, followed by 8. 7 and 9 glanced at each other before entering also.

"I guess I'll head down too..." said 2, walking towards the elevator.

The twins pointed at each other and then pointed at the ground, signaling that they were staying up in the workshop with 5 and 6.

"We'll be back up in a minute..." said 1. He then reached over and pulled down the lever that lowered the elevator. They slowly descended out of sight.

As soon as the elevator was out of sight, the twins rushed over to 6, both on the opposite side of his bed as 5.

"Hello..." 6 said quietly, closing his eyes as if he were starting to fall asleep again. The twins nodded, even though 6 still had his eyes closed.

5 sighed and looked at the panel on 6's right hand. His temperature was _124_. "Check his pulse," 5 said to the twins.

The twins looked at the screen on 6's left hand, and 3 held up two fingers. 4 held up six fingers.

"_26_?" confirmed 5. The twins nodded.

6 let out a low moan and started shivering even worse than before.

"6? Are you okay?" asked 5 quietly.

"S-so cold..." 6 whimpered tiredly.

"I know..." whispered 5.

6 moaned again and coughed feebly. "My head hurts..." he mumbled.

5 dipped one of the pieces of cloth into the jar of water and laid it on 6's forehead. "Does that help?" he asked. 6 weakly nodded.

"It's... I d-don't... I..." 6 stammered out quietly, grimacing in pain. Suddenly, he started coughing again. 5 and the twins quickly got him into a sitting position, where he continued to convulse with coughs. After a minute, the coughing died down and 6 collapsed back on the bed, still shaking and coughing feebly. His optics were glazed over with the green haze again, and the fabric of his face was also slightly green.

"6, it happened again..." 5 said quietly and he picked up the wet piece of cloth that had fallen off 6's forehead during the coughing fit.

6's hands clenched into fists and he grimaced in pain again. "S-s-s-s..." he stammered, unable to get the word out.

"What?" asked 5 quietly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"S-s-s-... _Source..._" 6 managed to choke out before he convulsed and coughed violently. 5 tried to help him sit up again, but he pushed 5's hand away. He coughed a few more times, his sharp fingers digging into the wood on the side of his bed. Suddenly, the coughing and convulsing stopped, and 6 lay completely still, his eyes closed. He was unconscious.

5 slowly reached out towards 6, but as soon as he touched his shoulder, the green tinge in 6's fabric and optics disappeared. Then 6 let out another long sigh, and more green smoke came out of his mouth and hovered in the air before disappearing.

5 and the twins stood frozen in place. Even 0, who had no idea what was going on, was standing still.

"What... was that...?" asked 5 a few minutes later. The twins looked at each other and shrugged, their eyes wide with worry.

They stood frozen in the same position for a few minutes until they heard the elevator coming back up. Turning, 5 saw 1 and 2 both turning the crank to raise the elevator. When they reached the floor level, 1 pulled down the lever that activated the break, and he and 2 stepped out and into the workshop.

"Remind me to make that automated..." 2 mumbled to 1. That was when he saw the look on 5 and the twins' faces. "What happened?" he asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

5 pointed a shaky finger at the unconscious stitchpunk. "I-i-it's 6..." he stammered out. "H-h-h-he just... h-he... he..."

"5, it's okay," said 2, gently pushing 5 into a seat. "Just take a deep breath. Calm down..."

After a few minutes, 5 managed to calm down enough to speak. "I d-don't know w-what happened... He s-started coughing, and then he turned green, a-and then the g-green went away and then t-this... green _smoke_ c-came out of his mouth..."

"Did he say anything?" asked 2. "Anything at all...?"

"Well, he..." 5's eye widened and his face went blank. "He said _Source_... and the smoke... it... it kind of looked like... i-it looked like his soul..."

* * *

><p>7, 8, and 9 carefully walked through the Emptiness. They carried everything they needed; 7 had her spear and her helmet, 8 carried his sharpest knives, and 9 carried his lightstaff and a small dagger. It was difficult to tell what time it was due to the dark clouds covering the sun and most of the sky. The air was hot and humid, and there was no wind. A storm was coming.<p>

After walking in silence for a few minutes, 9 turned and looked over his shoulder. He could see the Library in the hazy distance. They had promised not to lose sight of the Library, just in case.

9 looked forward again and saw that 8 had taken the lead, leaving him and 7 walking side by side. 7's shoulders were slumped, and she was looking absently into the distance.

"7..." said 9 quietly. "Are you okay?"

7's eyes snapped back into focus and she looked at 9. "Yeah, I'm fine..." she said quietly.

"Are you sure...?" asked 9. "Because usually when you say you're okay, it really means you're not."

7 sighed. "I'm just... really worried..." she said. "I mean... what are the odds we're going to find this thing in less than three days...?" 7 sighed, exasperated. "I mean... 6 is the closest to me in age... well, other than 8... and he's older than me, but he's always been like my little brother... And... it was hard enough to watch him die once..." After she finished her sentence, she kicked a rock in frustration. The rock sailed through the air and hit 8 on the back of the head.

"Ow..." he moaned, rubbing the back of his head and turning to glare at 7 and 9.

"Sorry..." said 7 guiltily. 8 grumbled something unintelligible before turning back around and continuing to walk.

9 laid his hand on 7's shoulder. "Don't worry," he said. "If we can find this thing, then we can probably take it down. I mean, did you see how easily 8 cut it's leg off?"

7 shrugged. "I guess we just have to remember to destroy it's right eye," she said.

9 nodded. "I wonder what's so important about it..."

7 only shrugged. "Don't ask me," she said. "I'm not the prophet."

* * *

><p>5 sat up in the watch tower, watching the others through the telescope. It was around three in the afternoon, and 6 hadn't had another coughing fit since that morning. However, 5 was still slightly traumatized. What was happening?<p>

_Maybe it's the Fever..._ 5 thought. A moment later, he face-palmed himself. _Of course it's the Fever, stupid... But what's it doing to him...?_

Sighing, 5 sat down on a block of wood and leaned his head against the cool metal of the telescope. There were so many things going on in his head, but one thing that stood out was still the fact that the Scorpion hadn't attacked yet. As he thought about this, 6's coughing fit kept popping back up, along with the Fever.

That was when it clicked.

5's eye widened and he slowly stood up. "Oh..." he said quietly. "They're connected..." With that, he turned and sprinted back down the stairs.

When 5 careened into the workshop, he tripped over 4's leg and face-planted, nearly giving everyone in the room a heart attack. He quickly stood back up, forgetting to be embarrassed. Looking around the room, he saw the twins standing up from where they had been sitting next to the stairs. 2 stood up from the block of wood next to the bed, and 1 turned away from the window to look at 5.

As 5 caught his breath from the mad dash down the stairs, he noticed that 6 – who was still unconscious – was curled up under a thin blanket.

5 slowly pointed over at 6. "I thought... we weren't supposed... to give him a blanket..." he gasped out, still trying to catch his breath.

"The poor boy was miserable..." 2 sighed. "And this blanket is thin. It doesn't help him, but it doesn't hurt him either."

5 sighed and shook his head.

"Do you plan to tell us why you ran down here as if you were being chased?" asked 1 impatiently.

"Right!" exclaimed 5, no longer out of breath. "I think I figured it out!"

"Figured what out?" asked 2 cautiously.

"Why the Scorpion hasn't attacked again," said 5 quickly. "It's because of 6, and his Fever! They're connected!"

"What are you talking about?" asked 1 loudly.

5 took a deep breath. "Let me explain this from the beginning. The Fever is killing 6, but it's also doing something else to him. It's tearing his soul apart. That was the green smoke. A part of his soul."

The twins looked at each other, blinking their eyes rapidly, before looking back at 5, their eyes wide. They knew what 5 was trying to say.

"What does this have to do with the Scorpion?" 2 asked, starting to catch on.

"Well... 6 said that the Scorpion was made by the Fabrication Machine. What did _any_ Beast that attacked us try and do?" asked 5. He waited for a second before continuing. "They tried to take us back to the Machine so it could suck out our souls!"

"Does that mean the Scorpion is going to come back and try and take 6?" asked 1.

5 nodded gravely.

"But the Machine was destroyed!" exclaimed 2. "The Scorpion wouldn't have anywhere to take him."

"But that's not the point!" exclaimed 5. "The point is that Scorpions were built to steal Keepers and give us Fevers! If a Beast were to come and take 6, he wouldn't be able to put up a fight because of the Fever. And if the Machine was still alive, any Beast could come along and take him. And because the Fever is ripping his soul apart, that would make it easier for the Machine to suck it out! That's why the Scorpion hasn't attacked yet! It's waiting until the last minute, when 6's soul is at it's weakest, because that's what it's been programed to do!"

The room was plunged into silence.

After a few minutes, 2 finally spoke up. "How did you figure all of this out...?" he asked.

5 shrugged. "I was just... thinking like a Beast..."

"But there's still one thing you haven't answered yet," said 1.

"What's that?" asked 5.

"How will the Scorpion know _when_ to come?"

5 opened his mouth to respond, but he had no answer.

"I think I figured it out..." said a quiet voice. 5 whipped around and saw 6 was awake and looking up at him.

5 quickly went and sat down next to the bed. "What did you figure out, 6?" he asked quietly.

"The eye..." he whimpered. "I f-figured out what the Scorpion's eye is for..."

"What?" asked 5. "What's it for?"

"It can see us with it..." 6 mumbled, closing his eyes again. "B-but it can see me best..."

"What do you mean?" asked 5 quietly.

"T-the F-Fever..." he whispered, starting to fall back asleep. "I-it can s-see heat..."

5's eye widened. "Oh... the Scorpion's right eye has heat vision..."

* * *

><p>"Hey guys, come look at this!" 8 yelled. 7 and 9 ran and caught up with him.<p>

"Whoa..." muttered 9, seeing the object. "What is it...?"

7 stepped forward. "I can't believe this is here..." she said quietly.

"What? What is this thing...?" asked 9, poking the object with his lightstaff.

"9... just look at where we are..." said 7.

9 looked around and his eyes widened. They were standing right outside the Scientist's house, and the object they were so fascinated with was sitting right in the center of the burnt graves. 9 felt a little bit disrespectful, standing on the graves, even though the owner of the graves were alive now. Mostly.

"9, do you remember...?" asked 7.

9 nodded and pointed to the object in the center of all the graves where he had started the fire. "That was where we buried the Talisman..."

7 nodded.

"So can you please tell me what it is?" asked 9.

"It's called a plant," said 7. "You probably woke up after all of them were gone."

"Should we kill it?" asked 8, holding up his knife.

"No!" exclaimed 7. "This is good! This is really good! It means life is coming back..."

"So... plants are good?" asked 9, looking closely at the little green sprout.

"_Really_ good!" exclaimed 7 happily. "And even better, it looks like it's growing out of the Talisman..."

"Uh... guys..." said 8 cautiously. "I don't wanna ruin the moment, but..." They looked up and 8 and saw him pointing up into the sky. They also looked up and saw that the sky was turning from reddish purple to black as the sun set. It was almost night time. The Scorpion would come soon.

"Maybe we should find a place to stay for the night," said 9. "Just in case."

"I agree," said 7. "If this thing comes in the middle of the night, we'll need some kind of protection. And it looks like it's gonna storm anyways..."

"How 'bout over there," suggested 8, pointing at an empty trashcan that was lying on it's side.

"That looks good..." said 9, shrugging. 7 nodded, and they all made their way over the the can.

"We should probably sleep in shifts," 7 suggested. "Don't want this thing sneaking up on us..."

"Agreed," said 9, twisting the light on top of his lightstaff and illuminating the dark can. "I'll take the first shift."

"Right," said 7. "I'll take the second, and 8-" They turned to face the largest stitchpunk, but he was already asleep, cuddling his largest knife.

"If we can wake him up, he'll take the third shift..." said 9, rolling his eyes. He and 7 then turned and watched as darkness fell over the Emptiness.

The Scorpion was out there somewhere, and they had to find it before it found them.

* * *

><p><em>128<em>

5 sighed and closed the panel on 6's right hand. He looked at 6's left hand and saw that 6's pulse had dropped to _22_.

6 let out a low moan of pain, and 5 tiredly put another wet cloth on his forehead. It was late at night, and 2 and the twins were asleep. 2 had fallen asleep against the wall, with one twin snuggled under each arm. 1, who was still at the window, was still awake, but barely. He looked like he had started to nod off again. 0 was also asleep, snuggled in 6's arms. 6 looked like he was having a nightmare, but 5 didn't want to wake him for fear of causing him more pain.

Sighing, 5 closed his eye and rested his head in his hands. He was so tired...

"It's okay..." said a small voice next to 5. "You can go to sleep..."

5 looked up and saw 6 looking tiredly back at him. The striped stitchpunk was still curled up on his side under the blanket, and he did look more comfortable that way.

"I think you should go back to sleep too..." said 5 quietly.

"Not tired..." 6 mumbled tiredly.

"Sure you're not..." said 5, smiling.

6 smiled weakly, closing his eyes. "I'll be okay..." he said. He took a deep breath, and he was asleep again.

5 smiled sadly. Even when he was on his death bed, 6 was still looking out for him. And now that 6 mentioned it, 5 realized that he was _exhausted_! Yawning, he rested his head on the table next to 6's bed, and a minute later, he was asleep.

* * *

><p>It was late at night. The air out in the Emptiness was dark and still. 7 sat awake and alert, listening carefully for any sounds. Behind her, 8 and 9 were both asleep.<p>

_Where are you..._ 7 thought menacingly, her grip tightening on her spear. Even though nothing had moved all night, she was still on edge.

Suddenly, she heard something move behind her in the can. She whipped around, ready to attack, but instead of a Beast, she saw 8 trying to sneak off deeper into the can. He was holding a magnet in his hand.

7 groaned in frustration and quietly walked up behind 8. When she was close enough, she hit him in the back of the head with the blunt side of her spear.

"What are you doing with that?" she hissed, quietly so as not to wake up 9.

"What?" asked 8 stupidly as he turned to face the angry stitchpunk.

7 violently gestured to the magnet in 8's hand. "Are you crazy? Why on earth would you even _think_ that getting high off of your stupid magnet while we're out hunting a giant deadly metal scorpion in the middle of the night is even a remotely good idea?"

8 gulped, his eyes wide. However, he wasn't looking at 7. He was looking past her.

"Are you even listening to me?" she demanded.

Instead of responding, 8 pointed at something behind her. Confused, 7 turned around...

...and saw the Scorpion standing over the still sleeping 9.

It was holding 9's Keeper.

* * *

><p><em>AN: This took me about a freaking MONTH to write! Damn, I am sorry! And I leave you with ANOTHER cliff hanger! Muahahahahahaha! That was Elliq's doing. Hehehehe... _

_So the Scorpion can see heat. I hope that explains why, in some of the earlier chapters, the Scorpion said that 6 was "glowing brighter" than the others. Hotter things glow brighter. _

_By the way, I had a couple people ask me what 6's temperature would be in Celsius. If it's 128 degrees Fahrenheit, then it would be about 53 degrees Celsius. Hope that puts some things into perspective..._

… _Happy 6 Appreciation Month! =D_


	9. Fading Stars

_A/N: Okay guys, I'm not completely evil. I'm not gonna leave ya hanging on THAT cliff for very long. So here we go! Sorry for not updating earlier. I was in freaking Ohio for Nationals (volleyball). And I turned 16 on the 2nd, so... yeah._

* * *

><p><strong>Fever<strong>

The Scorpion stood over 9, holding his Keeper. 7 and 8 stood frozen in place. The Scorpion looked up at them and then started to turn to run off into the Emptiness.

That was when 7 snapped into action. She snatched the magnet out of 8's hand and flung it at the Scorpion. It hit the beast right on the side of the head and stuck.

The Scorpion hissed in rage, but the magnet was confusing it too much. Stumbling backwards, it dropped 9's Keeper and turned and stumbled out of the can, back into the darkness.

"8, keep an eye on it!" shouted 7 as she ran over to 9. She picked up his Keeper, which was lying next to him. "9, wake up!" she exclaimed, shaking him.

Gasping, 9's eyes shot open and he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in his lower right side stopped him.

"Hold still," said 7. She saw that 9's chest hadn't been cut, but his zipper was down. The Scorpion must have unzipped him and stolen his Keeper, all in a second.

"7, what's going on?" exclaimed 9.

7 held up the nine-sided Keeper. "Recognize this?" she asked.

9's eyes widened. "Is that...?"

"Your Keeper? Yes," said 7. "Now hold still. This might hurt a bit..." She lowered the Keeper back down into 9's chest, quickly locating the spot where it was supposed to be. She snapped it back into place and was rewarded with a sharp cry of pain from 9. "I warned you..." she muttered. She watched as the little fan inside the Keeper started spinning, lowering 9's internal body temperature back to _80_ where it belonged.

"What happened?" exclaimed 9, sitting up and zipping himself back up.

"The Scorpion tried to take your Keeper," she said quietly, standing and then helping 9 to his feet. "I was yelling at 8 for using his magnet, and I had my back turned for a second... I'm sorry..." she whispered.

9 put his hand on her shoulder, smiling gently. "It's okay..." he whispered back. "It's not your fault..."

Before 7 had a chance to respond, 8 shouted from the entrance of the can. "I see it!"

9 and 7 quickly grabbed their weapons and ran to the entrance of the can. Sure enough, the Scorpion stood on a large pile of debris, watching them. It had managed to remove the magnet from it's head, and it didn't look like it had suffered any permanent damage.

The stitchpunks and the Scorpion stared at each other for a moment before the Scorpion turned and ran off.

"After it!" exclaimed 9, turning on his lightstaff so that he and the others could see in the predawn light. They chased after the Scorpion as fast as they could. The magnet seemed to have slowed it down, so they could always see where it was and which way it was going. However, it was still fast, so it was difficult to keep up with.

They chased it through the Emptiness for what seemed like hours. Finally, the sun began to rise over the horizon, and the Scorpion finally disappeared.

"Where is it?" grumbled 8, looking around. "Where'd it go?"

"I think the better question," said 9, "is... where are _we_?"

Looking around, the others saw that 9 was right. They were _literally_ in the middle of nowhere.

"8, give me a boost," said 9. The larger stitchpunk bent over, and 9 climbed up on his shoulders. Looking around, he saw the Fabrication Machine's factory _way_ in the distance.

"I see the Factory," said 9. "We're not _that_ lost..."

"We're so stupid..." muttered 7. "It _wanted_ us to follow it! It'll take us all day to get back to the Library!" she exclaimed.

"We should have listened to 6..." said 9, climbing down off of 8's shoulders. "He warned us... He said... _Don't get lost..._"

They were quiet for a moment, trying to let the situation sink in. The Scorpion had fooled them, and 6 had been right again.

"Let's get moving," said 7.

"The Factory was this way," said 9, pointing off in the general direction of the Factory.

"I can't believe I lost my magnet..." 8 grumbled.

With a long sigh from each stitchpunk, they all began to walk back towards the Factory, hoping that they wouldn't be too late...

* * *

><p>5 slowly blinked his eye open and lifted his head off of the table he had fallen asleep on. He saw that 6 was still asleep, even though he looked like he was having trouble breathing. 5 sat all the way up, but when he did, he felt something slide off of his back and fall to the floor. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that it was a blanket. Someone had thrown a blanket over him when he had fallen asleep the night before. Looking around, he saw that 2 and the twins hadn't moved. 6 was unconscious, and 0 didn't have hands, so the only one who could have done it was...<p>

"You're awake," said a voice from over by the window. 5 looked over to see 1 standing there, watching the sun break the horizon.

"Yeah..." said 5. "I'm awake." He waited for a moment before standing up and walking over to the window. He stood next to 1 for a moment. The elder looked deeply troubled as he stared at the rising sun.

"1, are you okay?" asked 5 after a minute.

1 sighed. "No, I'm not. It's my job to protect you all... So far, I'm not doing a very good job..."

5 stood for a moment before awkwardly patting 1 on the shoulder. He was about to say something when 6 started whimpering.

5 quickly went back to 6's bedside, and 1 went to the other side. 6 had started quietly gasping, as if there was something preventing him from breathing.

"It's okay, 6, it's okay," said 5 as he dabbed 6's forehead with a wet cloth. He looked at 6's right hand and saw that his temperature was _133_. He looked at 6's left hand and was filled with dread when he saw that 6's pulse was only _17_...

"Shh, you're okay 6..." said 5 quietly. "Just breathe..."

Slowly, 6's breathing slowed down a bit. Just when it seemed like he would calm down enough to go back to sleep, his eyes shot open and he yelped in shock and pain. His right hand shot out and he grabbed 5's shoulder. Then 5's vision went dark.

* * *

><p><em>The Scorpion was gaining on them. 5 and 6 were falling behind the others due to their wounds. Behind them, a crackling sound filled the air.<em>

"_5!" 6 yelped. Before 5 had a chance to do anything, something hit him hard on the back, and he lost all feeling in his arms and legs. He collapsed flat on the ground. 6 stopped and, grabbing 5's limp arms, started dragging him._

"_6, just go..." 5 gasped out._

_6 shook his head. "Help!" he shouted to the others. That was when the Scorpion reached them. It immediately swung it's giant claw at 6. The claw hit 6 on the throat and sent him flying backwards. He hit the ground convulsing with electrocution, and then he went limp._

"_6!" screamed 5. He tried to movie, but his paralyzed limbs wouldn't allow it. That was when the Scorpion brought it's massive claws down on 5's chest, ripping his burlap open. 5 screamed, but he managed to stay conscious long enough to see the Scorpion reach inside of him and yank out a small, five sided object, which caused another burst of pain. 5 screamed again, and just before he blacked out, he saw the others coming over the hill, their eyes wide with horror._

_He woke up a few days later in 2's workshop, with 6 looking down at him._

"_You have the Fever..." was the first thing 6 whispered to him._

"_What are you talking about?" asked 5 groggily. _

_6 gulped and looked down at the ground. "It took your Keeper... I couldn't stop it... I... I'm sorry..." That was when 6 opened the panels on the back of 5's hands, letting him see his rising temperature and dropping pulse._

_7, 8, and 9 went out into the Emptiness to search for the Scorpion and 5's Keeper. On the last day... only 7 and 8 returned. 7 was carrying 9's lightstaff, which had been cracked in half. Then the Scorpion broke into the Library._

_They all fought; even the twins, who had made slingshots. But they were no match for the Scorpion. 7 and 2 had been electrocuted. 8 and the twins had been paralyzed by the Scorpion's EMP. 1 had an electrified arrow sticking out of his chest; the electricity had knocked him unconscious. The only one left who had a chance of saving 5 was 6, the one who had seen it all coming._

_The small, striped stitchpunk stood up straight and tall between the angry Scorpion and 5, who was slumped against the wall, barely able to keep his head up, let alone move. He only had minutes before the Fever took him._

_The Scorpion lunged, and 6, who had taken up 7's spear, stabbed it in the throat. The Scorpion jumped backwards, taking the spear with it. It yanked the spear out and tossed it across the room, leaving 6 weaponless. 6 braced himself for the Scorpion to charge again or paralyze him. It did neither._

_Suddenly, the Scorpion's left claw shot across the room, grabbed 6, and pinned him up against the wall next to 5. That was when 6 saw that the claw was on a launcher hidden in the Scorpion's arm, and it was still connected with a metal chain. The Scorpion sent a current of electricity through the chain, violently electrocuting 6. The small stitchpunk writhed in pain, much to the horror of 5, who could do nothing but watch._

_After what seemed like hours, the Scorpion stopped the flow of electricity. 6's head fell forward and his body went limp, but he was still barely conscious. The Scorpion pulled the chain and claw back in, taking 6 with it. 6 weakly looked up and saw that he was still in the Scorpion's clutches._

_That was when he felt the Scorpion's grip tighten around his chest. However, instead of stopping after a minute, the Scorpion kept tightening it's grip. 6 squirmed in pain as the sharp claws dug into his fabric._

"_S-stop..." he gasped out, trying to pry himself free of the Scorpion's grip. It didn't work. The claw kept closing around his chest tighter and tighter until he couldn't take it any more. Finally, 6 let out a bone-chilling scream, and a loud SNAP echoed through the Library. 6's scream stopped and immediately turned into a whimper, and his body went completely limp._

_The Scorpion smiled evilly and carelessly tossed 6's broken body across the room, where it landed right next to 5._

"_6..." 5 gasped, reaching out and grabbing the smaller stitchpunk's hand._

_6 weakly opened his eyes and sadly looked up at his older brother. "I-I'm s-s-sorry... 5..." he quietly choked out before closing his eyes for the last time. He let out a small sigh and he was gone forever._

"_No..." 5 whispered. He tried to move closer to 6's body, but he couldn't. A noise came from across the room, and he looked up to see the Scorpion advancing slowly towards him. However, he never got to see what it was going to do._

_The Fever got too high and his pulse dropped to zero. 5 laid down his head and died next to his little brother._

* * *

><p>Gasping, 5 stumbled backwards. 6 took his hand off of 5's shoulder, also looking shocked.<p>

"6... what _was_ that?" 5 exclaimed.

"Vision..." 6 muttered, breathing heavily. "I... just showed you... Never seen that far before... Only saw you getting caught..."

5 shook his head a bit. "Wait, you're saying that that's what would have happened?" he asked quietly.

6 nodded weakly. "I changed it... But... I guess... I was g-gonna die anyways..." He let out a long, slow sigh. "A-at least... I saved y-your life..."

"Don't talk like that 6," said 5, returning to 6's bedside and gently stroking his inky hair back. "We're going to save you..."

"What just happened?" exclaimed 1. "What did he just do?"

"He showed me what would have happened if he hadn't jumped in the way and gotten paralyzed instead of me," said 5 quietly, still disturbed by watching himself _and_ 6 die...

"B-better this way..." 6 whispered.

"Don't say that, 6!" exclaimed 5. "I _refuse_ to let you die..."

6 smiled weakly and closed his eyes again. "Then... d-do something... B-barricade the d-door..."

"Barricade the door?" exclaimed 1. "But we can't! What if the others need to get back in?"

6 weakly shook his head. "T-they're n-not coming back... Not y-yet..."

"What do you mean?" exclaimed 5. "Has something happened to them?"

6 weakly shook his head. "T-they got l-lost..."

"But... are they okay?" asked 1, his voice betraying him and showing his concern.

6 slowly nodded, and 1 and 5 breathed a sigh of relief.

"So... why do we need to barricade the door?" 5 asked as he sat down on the bed next to 6.

"To s-slow it down..." 6 gasped out, closing his eyes and grimacing in pain. "Y-you... you have to m-make it c-climb... the outside w-wall... l-let it g-get in f-from h-here... W-when it comes... w-we go d-down... downstairs..." 6 stopped talking and started gasping for breath. He grabbed his chest and let out a low moan.

5 quickly sat 6 up so that he was somewhat upright, leaning against 5's shoulder. "It's okay 6, it's okay..." he whispered, wrapping his arms around the shaking stitchpunk. "What's wrong...?"

"It... i-it _hurts_!" 6 gasped out, both hands clutching his chest.

5 looked up at 1 and gestured for him to go wake 2 and the twins. He then turned back to 6. "Here, maybe this will help..." he said quietly. He reached behind 6 and unclasped the ring holding 6's key on. The key landed on 6's lap, but 6 didn't feel it due to the paralysis.

"_5_..." moaned 6, taking one hand away from his chest and grabbing 5's hand.

"Shh... it's okay..." 5 whispered. "You're going to be okay... The pain will go away..."

6 let out another long, low moan and buried his face into 5's shoulder, trembling in pain.

Looking across the room, 5 saw that 1 had finally managed to wake 2 and the twins. 5 quickly gestured to 2 to come. 2 crossed the room in a second and came to the other side of the bed so that he could see 6.

"6, what's wrong?" asked 2 quietly, laying his hand on 6's shaking shoulder.

"H-hurts..." 6 gasped out, not lifting his face. His grip on his chest tightened, as did his grip on 5's hand. "I-it's _burning me_!" he moaned.

Suddenly, 6 let out a loud, sharp scream and curled in on himself. His grip on his chest tightened, and his sharp fingers left small rips in the striped fabric of his chest.

5 gently pulled the trembling stitchpunk into his lap, where he continued to whimper. 6's sharp fingers started to tear up his chest fabric again, so 5 grabbed his key and put it in his hand. 6 took a good hold of the key and held it close to his chest. His shaking was slowly fading, and so was the pain.

"Shh, it's okay..." whispered 5, gently rubbing 6's back. He could feel that 6's Fever was still getting higher, but at least 6 was calming down.

After a minute, 6's shaking disappeared. He slowly lowered his arms back to his side, letting go of 5's hand but keeping a firm grip on his key. He let out a few feeble coughs before speaking again. "Sorry..." he said, his voice no more than a whisper. "I'm fine..."

5 smiled sadly. "Yeah... you're gonna be fine..."

6 weakly raised his head and looked up at 5, his eyes filled with so much sadness that 5 felt his soul shatter. There was no fooling him. 6 knew more than any of the others what was going to happen to him...

6 opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped with a gasp. His eyes widened, and he started trying to push himself away from 5.

"6, what's wrong?" asked 5 as he laid 6 back down and stood up. "6? Can you hear me?"

6 squeezed his eyes closed, and his sharp fingers dug into the wood on the side of the bed. "Oh no..." he choked out, his face contorted in pain.

"What is it?" asked 2 quietly. "What's wrong...?"

6 opened his mouth to try and say something, but his words were replaced with a sharp cry of pain.

5 looked at 6's hand and saw that his temperature was still _133_, so his pulse had to still be _17_.

Sighing, 5 leaned over 6 and gently stroked his hair back. "It's okay 6... Just take a deep breath and tell us what's wrong..."

6 slowly nodded, his eyes still closed. He tried to take a deep breath, but he immediately started hyperventilating. 5 opened his mouth, ready to calm 6 down again, but he was cut off before he could start speaking.

"S-screaming..." 6 choked out, grimacing in pain as he did so. "I-it's _screaming_..."

"Wha-"

Before 5 could even get the word out, 6 let out a long sigh, and more green smoke floated out of his mouth. The smoke passed so close to 5's face that he could actually _hear_ it. It was making a pained, quiet, high-pitch noise. The noise continued until the smoke tore itself apart, dissolving in the air.

As soon as it was gone, 5 looked at 6's right hand. His temperature jumped to _134_. Looking at 6's left hand, he saw that his pulse had dropped to _16_.

"5..." said 2 quietly. 5 looked up and saw 2 staring at him with wide eyes. Looking across the room, he saw that 1, who had the twins clinging to him, was also staring with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"That was what I was talking about," 5 said quietly. "That was a part of his soul..."

"Maybe that's why his pulse dropped when it came out..." said 2, gesturing to 6's left hand.

"But... what did he mean when he said _screaming_?" asked 1 from across the room. "What's screaming?"

5's eye widened. "His soul..." he said, thinking of the noise the soul had been making. The noise that sounded like a scream.

"His soul is screaming..."

* * *

><p>The Scorpion tiredly cracked one eye open. It was still the middle of the day. He still had a few more hours left to sleep.<p>

Sighing, he turned his head towards the Library. His heat vision allowed him to see through the walls of the collapsed house he slept in – the very house he had collapsed on the stitchpunks nearly a week ago – and see the Library. He could see the small one glowing white hot now. It was almost time to attack. He just had to wait a little longer...

Turning his head again, he saw the three that had chased him all night. They were closer now – almost at the factory – but it would still be hours until they were close enough.

He turned his gaze back on the Library. He knew he had to come when the little one was right on the brink of death. That would be when the others would try and fight him to protect the little one. And that would also be the opportune time to _infect_ all of them. Well... all of them that survive the battle.

He had to make sure he wouldn't miss his chance. Focusing his vision, he located the small one again. Keeping the small one in his sights, he set an alarm. His heat sensors would trigger a mental alarm when the little one's temperature reached _148_. That would be his best chance, and unless he successfully stole another Keeper, then it would be his only chance.

_Master, even if you are dead... I shall still make you proud..._ he thought before he fell back asleep.

* * *

><p>"What are you talking about?" asked 1. "How can his <em>soul<em> be screaming?"

5 shook his head. "He said _something_ was screaming, and when his soul came out, I _heard_ it screaming!" he exclaimed.

"And do you think the Fever is causing it?" asked 2.

"Well, what else could it be?" said 5, shrugging.

"So... what are we going to do now?" asked 1.

"We do what he told us to do," said 5. "We'll barricade the doors."

"When did he say that?" asked 2, looking slightly confused.

"You were asleep," 5 elaborated. "Anyways, we're going to have to move fast if we want to barricade the doors before nightfall. 3? 4?"

The twins looked up at 5 expectantly.

"You two stay up here and keep an eye on 6," he said. The twins nodded vigorously. 5 then looked at 1 and 2. "One of you will stay up in the watch tower to keep guard and stay close by if 6 has another episode. The other one will come downstairs with me, and help barricade the door and windows. You two will alternate. We'll need to move fast, because there isn't much time."

Suddenly, there was a hiss from behind 5. The one-eyed stitchpunk turned around and saw 0 sitting at his feet. The cockroach had been so quiet that he had forgotten about him.

"And _you_, 0," said 5, picking up the bug, "are going to keep an eye on everyone." The bug hissed again. "I'll take that for a yes," said 5, putting 0 down on the bed. 0 then scuttled up next to 6 and curled up under his master's arm.

5 turned back to 1 and 2. "Um... 2, why don't you stay up in the watchtower first, and 1, you come with me for now... Good luck everybody."

5 turned and walked towards the bucket elevator, and he heard 1's footsteps following him. 5 stepped into the elevator and turned around to see 1 step in and close the door. Before he pulled the lever to release the breaks, he saw 2 heading up to the watchtower and the twins sitting at 6's bedside, one twin on each side. 0 was still snuggled up next to 6. Sighing, 5 pulled the lever, and the elevator descended.

* * *

><p>7, 8, and 9 breathed a long sigh of relief when the Library came back into view... Well, 8 and 9 did. 7 was asleep, slung over 8's shoulder.<p>

They approached the Library, but... something was different. 8 was the first one to put his finger on it.

"What happened to the windows?" he asked.

9 looked up at the windows and, much to his surprise, saw that they were boarded up, and he assumed the door was too.

"I wonder what's happening..." muttered 9.

When they reached the door a minute later, they stopped. 9 banged on the door with his fist. "Hey!" he shouted. "Anybody in there?"

They waited for a moment and nothing happened. Suddenly, something hit the ground a few feet to their right. Looking over, they saw that it was a rope, and it had come through a then slit between the boards covering the windows. A moment later, someone poked their head out of the window.

"5!" exclaimed 9, recognizing the one-eyed stitchpunk. 5 waved at them and then squirmed through the opening. He grabbed the rope and used it to climb down the outside wall. When he reached the ground, he walked over to where 8 and 9 were standing by the door.

"What happened to 7?" was the first thing he asked.

"She fell asleep and we didn't have the heart to wake her up," said 9 tiredly.

"So... how did it go?" asked 5 nervously.

9 shook his head. "We didn't get 6's Keeper back. Actually, it attacked _us_ and tried to steal _my_ Keeper... But we tried to chase us, and it just got us lost..."

"Yeah, 6 told us you got lost..." said 5 quietly.

"Is that why you're barricading the door and windows?" asked 9.

5 nodded. "It's a long story..."

"So how's he doing?" asked 8, his voice showing concern.

5 shook his head sadly. "Not too good... He gets worse every hour..." 5 sighed, and for a second, 8 and 9 could see just how tired he was. "If you don't find his Keeper by tomorrow, he's going to die..."

9 stepped forward and gently put his hand on 5's shoulder. "We'll find it..." he said.

"No you won't," said 5, looking up at 9, his eyes filled with utter hopelessness.

9 sighed. "I know..." he whispered. "But we can help. We can at least try and weaken it."

5 sighed. "Okay, but just... _please_ try and be careful," he said, thinking of the vision that 6 had shown him earlier; the one where 9 didn't come back.

9 smiled, unaware of the danger he was in. "Don't waste time worrying about us..."

At that moment, 8 cleared his throat. "Uh, guys..." he said, pointing out across the Emptiness. 5 and 9 turned and saw that 8 was pointing at the setting sun. Night was falling. The Scorpion would come soon.

"I guess it's time for us to go," said 9. He turned to 8. "Better wake 7 up soon..."

"Good luck," said 5 quietly.

"You too..." said 9. He turned on his lightstaff, and he and 8 turned and ran off into the Emptiness with 7 in tow.

Once they were gone, 5 turned back to the rope. He climbed back up and through the window. Once he was through, he pulled all the rope back up and tossed it on the table under the window, almost knocking over one of the mirrors that the twins had yet to move. 2 stood down on the table, holding one end of the last piece of wood that would cover the window.

"Ready?" asked 2, gesturing to the wooden plank. 5 nodded, and he hopped down and helped 2 lift the plank. They carried it up and placed it securely against the window, sealing the gap.

"It's done..." said 2. "That's all we can do for now..."

5 sighed and nodded. "Let's go back up..." he said quietly. He and 2 walked over to the elevator; they both turned the crank and raised it all the way back up to the watchtower.

As soon as the elevator reached the workshop floor, 5 put the brakes on and jumped out. He quickly went over to 6's bed. 6 was still sleeping.

"Has he woken up yet?" he asked the twins. They both shook their heads, no.

5 sighed worriedly. Reaching around 3, he picked up 6's right hand and saw that his temperature was _137_. He could see on 6's left hand that his pulse was _13_. Sighing again, 5 gently stroked 6's hair back, wondering if he would wake up again.

"It's okay, 5," said 2, coming up behind 5.

5 turned to face 2. "What do you mean?"

"I'm telling you not to worry," said 2. "He'll wake up..."

5 sighed again. "But why has he been sleeping so much?"

"That's his body responding to the Fever," 2 explained. "The more he sleeps, the less energy he uses. That's what has kept his Fever from hitting 150 in the first place... Well, that and breathing."

"Breathing?"

2 nodded. "Breathing helps him stay cool. If he were to stop breathing for even thirty seconds, then his temperature would probably skyrocket."

"Wow..." muttered 5, absently brushing 6's hair back.

After a minute, the twins both stood up and sent up the stairs to the watchtower, probably go bring 1 down.

With one more sad look at 6, 5 turned and joined 2 by the window. The sun set a few minutes later, leaving trails of red and orange in the cloudless sky. About fifteen minutes later, all traces of the sun had disappeared beneath the horizon, and the darkness of night overtook the light. 5 looked up in the sky and saw that the full moon was floating high up in the darkness, casting an eerie blue light on the Emptiness.

Sighing, 5 closed his eye, knowing what the darkness meant.

It meant that 6 only had twenty four hours to live...

* * *

><p>The Emptiness was strangely and hauntingly... <em>empty<em>. There was no sign of movement anywhere.

"Where is that thing?" muttered the now very awake 7. "When I find it, I'm going to kick it's ass..."

Both 8 and 9 looked at 7, a look of confusion on their faces.

"Ass?" asked 8.

"What does ass mean?" asked 9.

8 giggled a bit. "That word is fun to say! Ass ass ass!"

"_Shut up_!" exclaimed 7 frantically. "I'll tell you what that word means later, just... don't say it in front of 3, 4, or 6, okay?"

"Okay..." said 8 and 9, disappointed.

7 rolled her eyes. "Okay, now if we don't find this thing soon, then we'll-"

She never got to finish that sentence.

8 suddenly went flying through the air. He landed about ten feet away, unconscious. 9 and 7 whipped around to see the Scorpion standing _right behind them_!

7 didn't waste any time swinging her spear. The blade connected solidly with the Scorpion's neck, but... nothing happened, even though she had used the same force to completely decapitate the Cat Beast. The Scorpion swung it's claw at 7 and hit her in the stomach, sending her flying backwards. When she landed, she tried to stand up, but the pile of rubble she had landed in collapsed on her.

9 was the only one left standing. He stood with his lightstaff in one hand and his dagger in the other. The Scorpion danced around the edge of the circle of light, and 9 caught this. As soon as the Scorpion fired it's EMP at him, he jumped out of the way and hit the Scorpion right in the face with his glowing lightstaff. The Scorpion let out a roar of pain and suddenly disappeared back into the darkness.

9 quickly ran over to the pile of rubble where 7 had been buried, and he saw 8, who had regained consciousness moments ago, was already digging.

"7, can you hear me?" shouted 9, joining 8 in digging.

"Yeah, I can hear you," said a voice from behind them. They both whipped around and saw 7 standing right behind them, one hand on her hip.

"7, you're a ninja..." said 9, shaking his head and smiling.

7 smiled cockily. "I know. Now c'mon! We can't let it get away!" she exclaimed before running off in the direction the Scorpion had gone. 8 followed her, and 9 started to run after them, but he was stopped by a sudden sharp pain in his chest. The suddenness of the pain made him double over, gasping for breath.

"9, are you coming?" came 7's voice from up ahead.

"Yeah, coming," 9 called back. The mysterious pain in his chest suddenly disappeared as quickly as it had come. 9 shook his head and ran after the others, preparing for a long night of chasing and fighting.

He had no idea that he had been Infected.

* * *

><p>It was getting late; 5 could tell by tracking the moon as it crossed the sky. The twins were starting to doze off. 2 was fiddling with one of his little trinkets. 1 was slowly pacing. 5 had yet to leave 6's bedside.<p>

Everything was quiet. Until...

"5?" came a quiet voice from the bed. 5 looked over and saw 6 looking up at him.

"Hey 6," he said quietly, stroking 6's hair back. "How do you feel?"

"Cold..." 6 said, his voice barely above a whisper. As if to prove how he felt, he shivered a bit and pulled his blanket around himself a bit tighter.

5 smiled sadly. "I know..." he said.

"Did I miss it?" 6 suddenly asked.

"Uh... miss what?" asked 5, confused.

"The sunset," said 6. "The last time I saw one, I could still walk... This was my last one..."

5 shook his head. "I'm sorry, 6... It's night time already..."

6 sighed and closed his eyes. "It's okay... my last one... was a good one..."

5 sighed and gently stroked 6's hair back. "Is there anything else? Anything I can do to help...?"

6 looked off into the distance for a minute before looking back at 5. "Just one thing..." He then gestured for 5 to lean down. When 5 did, 6 whispered something. 5's eye widened and he sadly nodded, trying not to cry. He looked at the others before turning back to 6.

5 carefully picked up the smaller stitchpunk and, making sure the blanket was wrapped securely around him, he carried 6 up the stairs to the watchtower. Once they were up there, he set 6 down and leaned him against the base of the telescope.

"Is that okay?" he asked. 6 nodded and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. 5 then sat down next to 6, and that was when they heard a small hiss from the stairs. Looking over, they saw that 0 had followed them up. 6 held out one hand, and 0 scuttled over and sat down next to his master.

Then they all looked up at the sky.

"There they are..." whispered 6. The stars had come out.

They sat in silence, watching the stars, for at least an hour. Finally, 6 started to doze off, so 5 decided it was time to go back downstairs. He gently lifted 6 off of the floor and carried him back down the stairs. Once he got back downstairs, he laid 6 down on the bed and covered him up with the blanket. 6 shifted a bit before sinking into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Once 5 made sure 6 was asleep, he let out a small, choked sob. 2 walked over and pulled 5 into a much needed hug.

"What happened?" he asked quietly. "What did he ask?"

5 choked back another sob. "He... he wanted to watch the stars... because h-he said he w-would never see them again..." That was all 5 could get out before he started sobbing again. 2 quickly led 5 out of the room and made him sit until he calmed down enough to think straight.

"5, it's going to be okay..." said 2 quietly.

"How do you know that?" whimpered 5 sadly.

"Because if you say it enough, it'll happen..." said 2, smiling sadly. He gently patted 5 on the shoulder before turning and returning to the other room.

5 took a deep breath. He had to get a grip. After all, he wasn't the one dying...

* * *

><p>The team in the Emptiness chased the Scorpion all night long. It would run, and when they caught it, they would fight. The Scorpion would always manage to escape without seriously hurting any of them. Instead of leading them out into the distant Emptiness, it stayed close to the Library.<p>

They chased it and fought it until the sky grew light.

"Where did it go?" asked 7 frantically after another attack.

9 and 8 looked around, but they couldn't see where the Scorpion had gone either. That was when 9 looked at the eastern horizon.

"Of course..." he muttered.

"What?" asked 8.

"No wonder it disappeared," he said.

"What are you talking about?" asked 7.

"I completely forgot..." said 9. "The Scorpion is nocturnal..." He then pointed to the eastern sky.

They all watched as the sun broke the horizon on 6's last day alive...

* * *

><p><em>AN: I wrote this entire freaking chapter on a BUS! And right now... *starts singing* I've got a cramp in my back, and another cramp in my right rump cheek. Look, it's some circling birds, I bet you that they're going to EAT OUR COURPSES! And then the worms will come out of the ground, and some other little critter's gonna come and make furniture out of our bones... and sit on it... and have lovely... dinners... AND THIS WHOLE THING WILL BE A DISASTER!_

… _Sorry. XD Anyways... I cannot WAIT to see your comments for the next chapter, and the chapter after that... I can't wait to see how many people cry... Muahahahahahaha!_

_But seriously, I really do have a cramp in my back and another one in my ass..._

_8: (giggling) Ass... XD_

_Oh, and remember. 9 does NOT have a Fever. He got his Keeper back. Just making sure._


	10. Life and Death

_A/N: I REALLY can't wait to see the reviews for this chapter and the next chapter.. I'm probably gonna get so much hate for this... *evil grin* Oh, you guys are really gonna hate me. By the way... it was storming when I wrote this. Perfect._

_But before we begin, I want to give you guys a little lesson on guns. I'm sure most of you have noticed that on the bottom of a bullet is a small circle, right? Well, that's the only place the bullet can be hit for it to ignite and fire. When you pull the trigger of a gun, this little thing called the hammer hits the bullet right in the center of that circle only. That ignites the gunpowder in the bullet, which causes an explosion (contained by the gun) which sends the actual bullet flying at the target. Trust me, this lecture is necessary. _

_Also, I HIGHLY suggest going back and reading chapter two before getting started with this one! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! So... enjoy!_

* * *

><p><strong>Fever<strong>

5 watched sadly as the sun rose on 6's last day alive. He hoped the team out in the Emptiness knew that they were 6's last chance. If they didn't find the Scorpion and 6's Keeper by that night, then 6 would die.

A gentle breeze started blowing, and 5 could feel the heat of the day already. The heat would make it even harder for 6 to keep going, and it would also bring on a storm, which was the last thing they needed.

5 suddenly heard 6 start whimpering behind him. Turning, he saw 6 clenching his hands into fists and grimacing in pain. He quickly made his way over to 6 and knelt down on the bed. He rested his hand on 6's shoulder and gently shook him to wake him up.

"6, wake up..." 5 whispered, not failing to notice how extremely hot 6 had gotten overnight. The heat of the day wasn't helping either.

Gasping, 6 slowly blinked his eyes open. "B-burns..." he stammered out quietly. He then started trying to push his blanket away, which was difficult due to the fact that his legs were paralyzed. "B-burning..." he whimpered. "P-p-please h-help..."

"Shh, it's okay," whispered 5, trying to keep his voice steady. He untangled 6 from the blanket and gently pulled it off of him before letting it fall to the ground. 6 breathed a small sigh of relief.

"H-hot..." he muttered deliriously.

"I know..." said 5 quietly, gently brushing 6's hair back. That was when he heard the elevator coming up. Turning, he saw that the twins had returned from filling up the jar of water again. 5 gestured for the twins to come quickly; they nodded and quickly slid the jar across the floor until it was next to the bed. 5 then dunked a piece of cloth into the cool water and, after quickly wringing it out, laid it on 6's forehead.

That was when he saw how much trouble 6 was really in. The extreme heat of his Fever turned the water on the cloth into steam, which rose up into the air and then disappeared in the wind. 5 slowly removed the cloth from 6's forehead. Instead of laying it back down, he wet the cloth again and then dabbed at 6's forehead and face to cool him down. After a moment, 6 drifted back off into a restless sleep.

5 sighed and looked at 6's right hand. His temperature was _141_. He looked at 6's left hand and grimaced. 6's pulse had dropped all the way to _9_. 5 sighed again, having hoped that they could cure 6 before his pulse dropped to the single digits.

Closing his eye, 5 rested his head in his hands, but he snapped his head up a moment later when the twins started shaking him. He looked over at 6 and saw another wisp of soul disappearing.

"Did he cough?" asked 5 nervously. When the twins shook their heads no, 5 gulped. This was _very_ bad. If 6's soul was leaving his body without a fight... 5 didn't even want to think about it.

At that moment, 2 came back down the stairs, carrying the items he had needed to fix the telescope, which had suddenly broken the night before. "How's it going?" he asked 5 as he set his tools down. And then he saw the look on 5's face. "Uh oh. What happened?"

"Some of his soul came out again... but... he didn't even cough..." muttered 5. "And his Fever is so high that it's turning the water on the cloth into steam... And he's... y'know... _dying_..."

2 sighed and looked down at his feet. "I'm sure the others will find the Scorpion..." he said, trying to offer some comfort.

5 shook his head. "I'm sure it'll find them first, but it won't matter... It's going to come here tonight. We have to be ready..."

"Find the chink..." came a voice from behind 5. Whipping around, 5 saw that it was 6 who had spoken.

"6?" whispered 5, laying his hand on 6's shoulder. 6 shifted a bit, and that was when 5 saw that he was still asleep.

"F-f-find the chink... find t-the chink... f-find it..." 6 whimpered, curling in on himself and grimacing in pain. "C-chink..." He then sighed and slipped back into a deeper, quiet sleep.

"Chink...?" muttered 5. "What's a _chink_?"

"It's like a gap," explained 2. "Like a weakness in something unbreakable..."

"Or..." muttered 5, his eye widening, "like a weakness in a machine..." He quickly stood up, ran across the workshop, and grabbed 6's picture of the Scorpion with the little red, black, and blue arrows pointing to different parts. He brought the picture back over and spread it out on top of a table.

"Okay, so the blue arrow is where the Scorpion keeps the Keepers it steals, right?" asked 5.

2 nodded.

"Well, we know that it's tail is a weapon, and there's a red arrow pointing to it," 5 continued to explain. "So the red arrows must be the weapons or dangerous parts. That's why there are red arrows pointing to it's claws too."

2 nodded again, understanding. "Go on..."

"So what do these black arrows mean...?"

The twins looked at each other, their eyes wide, and looked back at the picture.

"The black arrows are weak points!" exclaimed 2.

"Too bad there aren't many..." muttered 5, counting the arrows. There were only five arrows; there was an arrow pointing to the Scorpion's back right leg, the one that 8 had cut off, another pointing to the middle leg on the Scorpion's left side, and another pointing to it's left arm, halfway between the claw and the body. 5 remember what _that_ arm was for from the vision 6 had shown him, and he hoped that one of the others from the team in the Emptiness had taken it out already. Another arrow was pointing generally to the Scorpion's head and neck, and the final arrow was pointing to the base of the Scorpion's tail.

"Let me run upstairs and get 1," said 2. "He'll be furious if he misses any of this."

5 nodded, and 2 quickly headed up the stairs.

The twins moved forward and quickly cataloged the picture, memorizing the Scorpion's weak points and dangerous points.

"Are you two ready?" 5 asked the twins after a moment. "For tonight?"

3 and 4 looked at each other and grinned evilly. 5 knew that look. They _definitely_ had something planned, and he was too scared to ask. Instead, he risked a glance at 6's temperature. It had gone up to _142_, and his pulse had dropped to _8_.

5 grimaced and walked over to the window. In the far distance, he could see the others near the house that the Scorpion had collapsed on them a week earlier. Further off on the horizon, 5 saw large dark clouds starting to form.

Closing his eye, 5 sighed and silently started waiting for the storm.

* * *

><p>"I don't think we should be going over there," said 7, her voice betraying her nervousness.<p>

"Well, it's the only place we haven't checked yet..." said 9, carefully poking his way around.

"Because it's scary," 8 deadpanned.

9 reluctantly had to agree with 8. The collapsed house _was_ scary, especially since the memory of nearly dying in it was still fresh in his mind. "I guess it is kinda scary, but still, we should at least have a look around..."

"Fine..." sighed 7 as she glanced around nervously. "But we're probably not going to find anythi-"

"Found something!" exclaimed 9, cutting 7 off.

"What is it?" asked 8 as he and 7 made their way over to where 9 was standing.

"This," said 9, turning and showing the others the object in his hand. It was a picture of the Scorpion.

"This is one of 6's drawings..." said 7 quietly, examining the drawing of the Scorpion with small arrows pointing to different parts. "How did it get out here...?"

9 thought back to the last time 6 had been out in the Emptiness. "He had it with him," he said. "Remember, after the house collapsed on us? When 8 pulled him out of that pile of rubble, he had a picture with him. I didn't see it, but I'm sure this is it..."

"This is just like the picture he had back at the Library," said 7. "Except... with no color. That doesn't help much..."

"There's something on the back," said 8, taking the picture from 9 and holding it up for the others to see.

"_Find the chink"_ was scrawled on the back in 6's messy handwriting.

"Find the chink...? What's that supposed to mean?" asked 9, taking the paper back.

"Chink...? Isn't that like a weakness in something?" asked 7.

"Weakness?" grumbled 8.

"Yeah, like a weak point or open spot," said 7.

"I thought it was the sound something small makes when you drop it," said 8, scratching his head.

7 rolled her eyes. "What do you think, 9?"

9 slowly took his eyes off of the picture and looked up at the others. A devious grin crept onto his face. "I think... it's going to rain." He then rolled up the paper, stored it inside his chest, and walked off in the general direction of the Library.

* * *

><p>6 slowly blinked his eyes open. He was still exhausted, but he wanted to stay awake, even if it caused him pain. He glanced around and saw 5 sitting by his bed and the twins huddled against the wall, examining a rubber band. 1 was tying a long thin blade to a thin metal stick, 2 was adjusting something on the elevator, and 0 was still huddled up against his side.<p>

6 painstakingly turned his right hand so that he could see the screen showing his temperature. It was still at _142_. He closed his eyes, and he must have moaned involuntarily, because he felt 5's hand on his shoulder.

"6, are you okay?" whispered 5.

6 weakly nodded. "C-can you... try and... f-fix my legs...?" he asked quietly.

5 smiled sadly. "Sure, 6. We'll see what we can do..."

"Thanks..." muttered 6. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep...

… right into a nightmare.

* * *

><p><em>6 was running for his life again. He heard the familiar crackling of the Scorpion right behind him. He looked around for 5, but he wasn't there. 6 was completely alone.<em>

_Suddenly, 6 felt the Scorpion's EMP hit his back, and he collapsed._

"_Help!" he screamed, hoping that someone would hear him._

_The Scorpion ripped his chest open with it's sharp claws, and 6 screamed when it yanked his Keeper out. From the corner of his eye, he could see the others running towards him. He felt the Scorpion pick up his limp body in it's claw. That was when 8's knife came flying out of the darkness and cut off the Scorpion's back right leg, right where one of the chinks were. _

_However, the Scorpion didn't drop him. If anything, it's grip tightened. Then it turned and ran back into the Emptiness with 6 in tow._

_The last thing 6 heard before he blacked out was 5 screaming his name._

_He woke up a few days later. Wherever he was, it was pitch black and freezing. 6 curled in on himself, trying to use his Fever to heat himself back up. He opened the panel on the back of his hand, and the little glowing green numbers on the back of his hand told him that his Fever had already rocketed past 100. He closed his eyes and whimpered, scared and alone._

_The next day, he woke up with no feeling in his legs. Now, even if he knew how to escape from his strange prison, he wouldn't be able to due to the paralysis. He had never felt more alone in his life, and the cold and darkness didn't help._

_Every night, the temperatures would plummet and he would have to curl up on the cold hard floor. He even found himself holding his breath to try and raise his temperature just to maybe end the torture a little sooner. The little numbers were the only things he could see. He was literally watching himself die, slowly and painfully._

_On his last day... something changed. The room got a little bit lighter. Suddenly, something hit the ground a few feet in front of him. There was another thump, and then another much larger one. That was when he heard the voice. The first voice he had heard in a week._

"_Where are we...?"_

_That was 5's voice._

_6 gathered up all of his strength and gasped out one feeble, quiet word: "5...?"_

_A bright light suddenly filled the room. 6 saw that 5 was holding 9's lightstaff. 7 and 8 were also in the room, which turned out to be a small cavern._

"_6!" exclaimed 5. He quickly handed the lightstaff over to 7 and sprinted over to where 6 lay curled up on the floor. When he reached 6, he dropped to his knees and picked 6 up, cradling him in his arms. _

"_I'm so sorry, 6..." he whispered, hugging 6 tightly. That was when he noticed 6's Fever. "You're burning up! What... what happened...?"_

_6 slowly turned his hand so that 5 could see the numbers._

"_Oh no..." 5 muttered._

_6 closed his eyes and whimpered, snuggling closer to 5. He had known that he was going to die, but at least now he didn't have to die alone._

_And he had really needed that hug._

"_W-w-where a-are the o-others...?" 6 gasped out, looking tiredly up at 5, 7, and 8._

"_Well... 1, 2, and the twins are back at the Library, but I don't know how much longer they'll last..." said 5._

"_And 9 is dead..." mumbled 8 sadly, risking a glance at 7, who had yet to say a single word. She simply stood there, looking at the lightstaff in her hands, her face completely devoid of emotions, even though they all knew she was sobbing on the inside._

"_W-where are we...?" whispered 6._

"_We're under the collapsed house... T-the Scorpion brought us here..." 5 told 6. "We were searching for you, and it attacked us..."_

"_It won..." 6 whispered, closing his eyes._

_5 sighed and looked at the back of 6's right hand. 149. 6 only had minutes left. _

"_5..." whispered 6._

"_Yeah?" 5 whispered back._

"_P-please... s-save the others..."_

_5 nodded sadly, but 6 didn't get to hear his response. His Fever reached 150, and he felt everything inside him just... stop. And then he didn't feel anything._

_But at least he didn't die alone..._

* * *

><p>5 watched 6 fall asleep, unaware of the mental hell that 6 was experiencing.<p>

"What did he say?" asked 2, coming up beside 5.

"Uh... he asked if we could try and fix his legs..." said 5 quietly.

"We might be able to do that," said 2, "but only after he's cured. If it's his Fever that's causing his paralysis, then we won't be able to do much about it..."

"What's it doing to him, anyways...?" muttered 5. "How could a Fever paralyze him...?"

2 thought for a moment. "Let's just find out..." he said, moving the other side of the bed. "Help me roll him over so that he's on his back."

5 nodded, and he and 2 gently rolled 6 onto his back. 0 jumped up and started hissing at them when 6 winced, but the twins quickly rushed over and grabbed him to calm him down.

Once 6 was lying flat on his back, 5 untied the rope around his midsection that held the wound closed. He gently tugged the fabric apart a bit so that he could look inside.

"That doesn't look good..." muttered 5. Several of the wires running down 6's lower spine had been burnt so badly that they were severed. The same thing had happened further up, just under his voice apparatus. That's what was causing his paralysis. 5 started to take a step back when he saw the empty, six-sided socket where 6's Keeper should be. Choking back the anguish he felt from seeing that, he shakily retied the rope and took a step back.

"D-do you think we could fix something like that...?" asked 5.

2 nodded. "We should be able to fix it. I have spare wires that can replace the melted ones. It should give him full use of his legs again."

5 breathed a small sigh of relief, but then the nervousness returned. "Should?"

"Well, there's no telling if he'll fully recover from this," said 2 nervously. "He might still end up crippled..."

5 nodded sadly. _If he survives..._

* * *

><p>Dark clouds were slowly covering the sky. A hot, uncomfortable wind was blowing. The heat of the afternoon was just increasing the storm's strength.<p>

The team out in the Emptiness were on edge. With the clouds covering the sun, their only way to tell the time was by how dark it was. And the pitch black clouds rolling in didn't help one bit.

"I don't like this..." said 9 quietly, not daring to speak above a whisper.

"Me either..." grumbled 7 and 8.

"We should probably stay close to the Library," said 9. "When the storm starts, we'll need some kind of shelter..."

"Unless we're dead by then..." muttered 8.

The others rolled their eyes, and they continued to walk through the ominous Emptiness, unaware that they were being watched.

The Scorpion was waiting...

* * *

><p>5 had started pacing again. Even though the sky was now completely clouded over, he could tell that it was getting late. 6's time was running out fast.<p>

5 looked over at the sleeping stitchpunk. 6 had somehow managed to curl up on his side again, but he looked like he was in pain. 5 quietly walked over to him and looked at his hand.

_143_. His pulse was _7_.

Suddenly, 6 gasped and his eyes shot open. He looked around frantically until his eyes found 5.

"6, are you okay?" asked 5.

6 closed his eyes, breathing hard. "N-n-nightmare..." he whispered.

5 gently smiled. "Don't worry. You're safe..."

"For now..." 6 muttered, looking up at 5. Suddenly, he gasped and, grimacing in pain, wrapped his arms around his chest.

"It's okay, 6, it's okay..." said 5, kneeling down and dabbing 6's forehead with the wet cloth. He looked around and saw that he was alone in the workshop, aside from 0. 1 was in the watchtower, 2 was testing out the elevator, and he had no idea where the twins were.

"5..." moaned 6, trembling in pain.

"Shh, it's okay, just try and go back to sleep..." whispered 5.

6 weakly shook his head. "D-don't w-wanna..." he whimpered.

"It's okay, I'm right here," said 5. "You won't have any more nightmares..."

6 shook his head again. "N-not that... A f-few h-hours left... D-don't w-want to m-miss any..."

5 sighed sadly, but before he had a chance to say anything, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Turning, he saw 4 come into the workshop, carrying a couple pieces of paper. Then 3 came up, carrying a small jar of ink. When 6 saw the ink, his eyes widened.

4 spread a piece of paper on the bed in front of 6, and 3 took 6's left hand and dipped it into the jar of ink. As soon as he released 6's hand, it went right to the paper.

6 slowly dragged his inky fingers across the paper and started drawing. All traces of pain instantly disappeared from his face, and 5 actually heard him sigh in relief.

As 6 drew, 5 looked up at the twins. "Thanks..." he whispered.

The twins nodded and smiled sadly.

After a few minutes, 6 closed his eyes and stopped drawing. 5 stood up and looked at the picture that he had drawn, but he gasped when he realized what it was.

It was 6's Keeper. And it was broken in half.

5 slowly took the picture, still dripping with ink. He looked at the twins, he eyes wide.

"Y-you'll find that at the d-door tomorrow m-morning..." 6 whispered, his eyes still closed.

"No we won't," said 5, trying to keep his voice steady. "We'll save you..."

"H-how do you know?" muttered 6, starting to shake again. "Y-you can't s-see the f-future..."

5 opened his mouth to respond, but 6 suddenly cried out in pain, curling in on himself.

Dropping the picture, 5 quickly bent over 6. The twins rushed to the other side of the bed; 3 dabbed 6's forehead with a wet cloth, and 4 struggled to hold on to 0.

"It's okay, 6, just calm down..." said 5. He put another piece of paper in front of 6, but he just pushed it away.

"No..." 6 gasped out. "Not again..."

5's eye widened as he realized what was about to happen. He quickly rolled 6 over so that he was on his back.

The second 6 was on his back, a burst of green smoke came out of his mouth, and 6 went completely limp. The green smoke swirled in the air for a moment before disappearing.

5 sighed and looked at 6's temperature. _144_. His pulse was _6_.

"How many times has he done that...?" came a voice from behind. 5 turned around and saw 2 slowly exiting the elevator, which he had finally managed to automate.

"What do you mean?" asked 5 quietly.

"How many times has his soul come out?" asked 2, looking nervously at 6.

"Including this one... five times," said 5.

2 nodded a bit. "I'm surprised there's still any soul left inside..." he muttered.

"Yeah..." muttered 5 distractedly. He turned and walked over to the window. What he saw made him freeze.

Darkness was falling.

* * *

><p>The nights came quickly in the Emptiness. 9 held his lightstaff high, illuminating the surrounding area. He and the others were about three minutes away from the Library, far enough to keep the others safe from the Scorpion, but close enough to run to in case there was an emergency.<p>

Lightning flashed through the sky, and thunder rumbled in the distance. A strong wind whipped through the hot, humid air, blowing stray papers around.

"Where is it...?" muttered 7, her grip on her spear tightening.

"I don't know..." 9 said. "It's getting dark. It should be coming soon."

"But that means 6 is dying now..." said 8 quietly.

9 nodded sadly. "There's still some time left," he said, lowering his lightstaff a bit. He looked out towards the Library. Lights were illuminating every single room in the building, especially near the bottom, which 9 thought was strange because they were keeping 6 up in the tower...

Suddenly, something flew through the air and landed in a pile of rubble a couple feet away. They all jumped at the sudden noise.

"What was that?" hissed 7, holding her spear in an attacking position.

9 cautiously approached the object. He held his lightstaff high up to spread the light. That was when he saw what it was.

It was 8's magnet. The one the Scorpion had taken.

In his confusion, 9 lowered his lightstaff.

And then the Scorpion attacked.

* * *

><p>5 sat staring at the crossbow in his lap. He was armed, just like the others. 1 and 2 both had spears, and the twins had some mysterious weapon that they had yet to reveal. 5 looked down at his backup weapon. It resembled a spear on one end and a hatchet on the other. 5 had designed it so that it could be broken in half, and each end could be used separately as a weapon.<p>

The tension in the air was so thick, 5 felt like he could cut it with a knife. Night had fallen and the storm was approaching. A trap had been set downstairs. Now all they had to do was wait for 6's prediction to come true. All they had to do was wait for the Scorpion.

Nervously tapping his fingers against his leg, 5 looked over at 6. The striped stitchpunk was still sleeping. 5 looked at the screen on his right hand. His temperature was _145_. His pulse was _5_. He still had a bit of time left until his temperature reached 150.

5 sighed and glanced around the room. 1 was by the window, 2 was fiddling with his weapon, 0 was laying on 6's chest, and the twins were sitting in the corner near the elevator. The room was silent except for the howling of the wind and the distant rumble of thunder.

Not a second later, the silence was shattered by a loud, sharp scream.

6 sat bolt upright so fast that he flung 0 across the room. His eyes were wide and terrified. "NO!" he screamed, falling back onto the bed.

"6, what is it?" gasped 5, standing up. "What's wrong."

"I-it's a-attacking them..." 6 gasped out, his eyes unfocused and his pupils no more than pinpricks.

"What do you-" 5 started to ask, but he stopped. His eye widened in fear, and he rushed over to the window, leaving 6 with the twins.

5 quickly scanned the darkness. "There!" he shouted, frantically pointing out into the Emptiness, where he could see the faint glow of 9's lightstaff. However, he could also see the bright, electric blue blasts of electricity surrounding the large, metal Beast.

"What's going on?" exclaimed 1 loudly.

"The others are fighting the Scorpion!" exclaimed 5, squinting to get a better view. He could see 9 and 7 running around the Beast, and he could see 8 trying to sneak up on it with his knife. Suddenly, something happened that 5 couldn't make out, the light went out, and there was only one stitchpunk left. Judging by the size, it was either 7 or 9.

And then something exploded, and the smoke and dust caused 5 to lose sight of the others and the Scorpion. He stumbled back away from the window.

"Dying..." muttered 6 deliriously.

5 whipped around to face him. "What?" he exclaimed.

6 dizzily shook his head. "He's dying..." he whimpered.

5's eye widened, and he felt everything inside him freeze. He turned to face 1 and 2. "Try and see if you can see anything!" he exclaimed. He then turned back to 6. "Is there anything we can do...?" he whispered.

6 weakly shook his head, and his pupils returned to their normal size. "Sorry..." he whispered. "There isn't any-"

But then he stopped. His eyes widened a bit. "Unless..."

Then he closed his eyes.

5's eye widened in fear. "Unless what? 6?"

That was when 5 saw 6's temperature. It had been _145_ only seconds earlier, and now it was _146_. As 5 watched, it immediately jumped up to _147_.

5 gasped as he realized what was going on. 6 was holding his breath. He was raising his temperature on purpose!

"6!" exclaimed 5, grabbing him by his shoulders and shaking him. "6, stop it! What are you doing?"

5 looked at 6's temperature again.

_148_

That was when 6 opened his eyes and started gasping for breath. His temperature stopped at _148_. His pulse had dropped to _2_. He had literally taken away his remaining hours.

Now he only had minutes to live.

"6... What did you do?" gasped 5.

"C-changed f-fate..." he gasped out, smiling weakly.

5 shook his head. "What do you mean?"

6's smile faded. "I-it's c-c-coming... T-the S-scorpion is c-coming..."

Outside, a bright flash of lightning illuminated the sky. And then the rain started.

* * *

><p><strong>Earlier<strong>

The Scorpion came out of nowhere. It smacked 8 aside with it's massive claws and sent him flying through the air. He landed in a pile of rubble a few feet away.

The Scorpion lunged at 7, but she jumped out of the way and swiped at the Scorpion's face, aiming for it's right eye. However, the Scorpion smacked her spear away before she could hit the eye.

9 swung his lightstaff at the Scorpion's face. The beast backed off at the light, and 9 lunged at it with his dagger. However, the Scorpion took a swing at 9, and he had to jump back to avoid getting clobbered.

He wasn't fast enough. The Scorpion's claw knocked the lightstaff right out of his hand. It flew through the air before hitting the ground with a loud _crack_. And then the light went out.

9 gulped, but he and 7 kept circling the Scorpion, one distracting it when it tried to go after the other. That was when 9 saw 8 sneaking up behind the Scorpion, giant knife in hand.

Once 8 was close enough, he threw his knife as hard as he could at the Scorpion. The knife sailed through the air and hit the Scorpion's middle leg on the left side. The leg came clean off.

The Scorpion roared in pain and swung around. It hit 9 first, throwing him into a wall, where he landed right next to his broken lightstaff. Then it hit 8 with it's claws again and sent him flying... right at 7. She tried to dive out of the way, but she wasn't fast enough. The unconscious 8 landed right on top of her, trapping her.

9 was the only one left.

He slowly stood up, and the Scorpion turned to face him. It didn't do anything, however. It was waiting for him to make the first move.

9's eyes slowly scanned the ground near him. He still had his broken lightstaff, but he had dropped his dagger, and his lightstaff wasn't of any help to him at the moment.

That was when a flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and he saw it. A shiny object was sitting right by his foot. The object was cylinder-shaped at the base, but near the top, it narrowed to a point. He recognized the object.

It was a bullet.

9 looked at where he was standing. He was on top of a brick that had fallen loose, and there was a nail sticking out of the brick. Pointing right at the Scorpion's face.

Without hesitation, 9 quickly picked up the bullet and slammed the back of it against the nail.

_BANG!_

The bullet exploded, sending 9 flying backwards against the wall. When he hit the ground, he curled up around his left arm and let out a scream of pain. He opened his eyes and, once his vision focused and his head stopped ringing, he looked at his arm. All of the burlap from his wrist to his elbow was completely gone, there were several exposed sparking wires, and the thin piece of metal piping that made up his arm bone was blacked with small fragments of metal sticking out of it.

Trembling in pain, 9 looked up to where the Scorpion had been. The wind slowly blew away the dust cloud, and 9 could see the Scorpion.

It had definitely been hit by the bullet. Half of it's face was missing. A large chunk of metal was gone from the side of it's head, and it's eye was gone too.

It's left eye.

"Oh..." moaned 9. "Wrong eye..."

The Scorpion let out a roar of pain so loud that it nearly blasted 9 deaf again. Then it slowly started to advance towards him.

9 dizzily scrambled to his feet, leaning on his broken lightstaff, barely able to see through the pain. His only thought was that he hoped 7 had woken up 8...

That was when it stopped.

9 heard an electrical crackling noise. He braced himself, ready for the Scorpion to fire it's EMP at him.

But that never happened.

Suddenly, the Scorpion's left claw shot out at 9 and pinned him to the wall. 9 gasped in shock, not expecting that at all. He saw that the Scorpion hadn't moved; just the claw. That was when he saw the chain connecting the claw to the Scorpion.

"Ass..." muttered 9.

And that was when the Scorpion sent a strong current of electricity through the chain.

9's screams were drowned out by the thunder and the howling wind.

The Scorpion smiled, watching 9 convulse. It slowly rose the voltage of the electrical current. If the voltage kept rising, then 9 would die. 9 knew this too.

But then it stopped. The flow of electricity stopped cold _right _before becoming lethal_,_ and 9's body went completely limp.

After a moment, 9 weakly lifted his head and looked at the Scorpion. The beast was looking off across the Emptiness. 9 slowly turned his head to see what the Scorpion was looking at.

The Library.

9 felt the Scorpion's grip on him start to loosen. That was when something large and silver flew through the air. It sliced the chain connected to the Scorpion's claw.

8's knife.

The Scorpion's let out a roar of pain, but instead of attacking, it sprinted off towards the Library.

9 felt himself fall to the ground, pain still burning up his entire body from the electrocution. A moment later, he felt himself being lifted into a sitting position.

"9...?" That was 7's voice.

"I'm fine..." 9 stammered out, trying to open his eyes. "W-we have to s-stop it..."

"Why?" asked 7. "Where is it going?"

"T-t-the L-Library..." he gasped. "I-it's going a-after the others..."

9 let his head roll to the side, and he saw 8 pulling his knife out of the ground, along with the other Scorpion leg. He didn't touch the claw, though.

"8..." groaned 9.

The larger stitchpunk looked over at 9. "What?" he asked.

"D-do you s-still have t-that o-other leg...?"

8 nodded and, reaching behind his back, pulled out the leg he had cut off of the Scorpion a week earlier, holding it up with his newest prize.

9 nodded. "G-good."

"C'mon," said 7. "We've got to get back to the Library..."

"Here," said 8, bending over and picking up 9. He and 7 stood up and they started to run towards the Library.

A minute later, it started to rain.

By the time they reached the Library door, it was pouring so hard that they could barely see. From inside, they could hear the sounds of a fight. The Scorpion had already gotten inside.

"How do we get in?" exclaimed 8 as they reached the barricaded door.

That was when 9 spoke up. He coughed out something unintelligible.

"What did you say?" asked 7, nearly shouting to be heard over the storm.

9 coughed one more time before speaking one single word:

"Up."

7's eyes widened and she looked at 8. "Find the chink..." she muttered, finally realizing what 6 had meant.

8 nodded and, gently throwing 9 over his shoulder, he took the Scorpion legs, one in each hand. 7 jumped on his back and held on tight.

Then, using the serrated Scorpion legs, 8 started climbing up towards the chink.

* * *

><p>5 carried 6 into the bucket elevator and gently set him down so that he was leaning against the cool metal wall. Once he made sure 6 wouldn't fall over, he dashed back out and grabbed his crossbow, quiver, and spear.<p>

"Is everybody ready...?" asked 5 quietly. The others nodded gravely. 5 nodded back. "Good. Everybody get in the elevator and be ready for the fall."

The twins scampered into the elevator first, 4 holding on to 0, and 3 keeping 6 upright as the bucket swung. 1 and 2 followed them in; 1 was holding the rest of the weapons, and 2 had his hand on the lever that would disengage the break.

5 handed his spear to 1 and then made sure his crossbow was loaded. He slowly walked towards the window, crossbow at the ready. When he reached the window, he slowly looked out...

… and jumped back as an EMP blast flew right by his head.

Judging by the mark left on the wall, the Scorpion had it's EMP set for stun.

5 ran back to the elevator and slammed the door closed behind him. He signaled for the others to be silent. Past the rain, they could hear something... it sounded like the Scorpion was _climbing_ the outside wall!

_Well, at least the barricade worked..._ thought 5 bitterly.

That was when they heard the signature buzzing of the Scorpion's EMP. Nearly right outside the window.

"NOW!" exclaimed 5, dropping to the floor of the elevator and throwing an arm over the twins and 6.

2 pulled the lever, and the bucket plummeted.

5 held on tight, feeling like he was going to be thrown out at any second.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of free-falling, 2 reengaged the break, the the elevator screeched to a stop, just an inch above the ground floor.

5 quickly stood up and, grabbing his spear, flung the door open. He jumped out and, after pulling the twins out, he picked up 6.

"Hide..." he hissed to the others before running off across the Library with 6 barely conscious in his arms.

A minute later, he reached what looked like a small pile of books and papers leaning against the far wall. 5 moved aside one of the books to reveal a small, shaded opening. He carried 6 inside and gently set him down so that he was leaning against the wall.

"5..." moaned 6 deliriously.

"Yeah...?" whispered 5 sadly, kneeling down in front of 6.

"B-be careful..." 6 whispered back.

5 nodded and turned around. Just as he expected, 0 was sitting at the entrance. 5 quickly walked over and scooped up the bug. He then turned and set 0 down next to 6.

"0, look after him until I get back," said 5. He swore he saw the bug nod.

Before leaving, he took one more look at 6's temperature.

_149_

His pulse was _1._

_Better do this quick..._ thought 5 sadly. From the center of the Library, he heard a crash. The Scorpion had reached the ground floor, courtesy of the elevator wires.

With one more sad look, 5 stepped out of the shelter and pushed a thin book over the opening, hiding 6 and 0. He then turned and ran to his position, which he and the others had planned earlier.

5 took his position under the table near the door. From there, he could see the pile of books where 6 was hiding. He also knew that 1 was hiding near 6 so that he could help if the Scorpion found 6. 2 was hiding near 1's throne, and the twins had already scurried up to the level above, where they had hidden their weapon. The room was well lit, which would hopefully warm up the room and make it harder for the Scorpion to see them.

That was when 5 finally saw the beast in the light as it slowly stalked it's way into the center of the room. It was even uglier than 5 remembered it, with it's scratched up metal exoskeleton and hideous face. That was when 5 noticed the damage it had taken. Instead of missing one leg, it was missing two, and it's left claw, the one with the chain launcher, was gone. Then 5 got a good look at it's _entire_ face. The Scorpion's left eye was missing, along with a large chunk of it's head. The rest of it's face was blackened and slightly deformed as if it had been burnt. That must have been from the explosion.

_But it's still got it's heat vision..._ thought 5. He slowly lifted his crossbow and took aim. If the Scorpion turned it's head just a little bit more, then 5 could blind it.

Suddenly, the Scorpion's head snapped towards the pile of books where 6 was hidden. It slowly started to move in that direction.

5's eye widened and, without another thought, he ran out into the open and shot an arrow at the Scorpion. The arrow bounced harmlessly off of the back of the Scorpion's head. It didn't do any damage, but it did what 5 wanted it to do. It got the Scorpion's attention.

The Scorpion whipped around and faced 5. Without missing a beat, 5 loaded another arrow into his crossbow.

The Scorpion hissed at 5, and suddenly it's entire exoskeleton started crackling and arcing with electricity.

"Remember me?" asked 5, his voice emotionless except for raw hatred.

The Scorpion hissed again before moving it's claw up and down a bit. Waving. It definitely remembered.

"That's good," said 5. He cocked his crossbow, his eye narrowed.

"Because this time it's personal!"

Then he shot.

The Scorpion turned so that the arrow hit it's armored side and bounced off. Then it charged right at 5.

Knowing he didn't have enough time to reload his crossbow, 5 grabbed his spear and dove out of the way. The Scorpion, still off balance from losing another leg, skidded into the leg of the table 5 had been hiding under. The wooden leg cracked, and the table collapsed on the Scorpion, sending piles of books crashing to the ground, along with the five mirrors the twins had been playing with earlier that week. None of the mirrors broke.

5 climbed up on top of a large pile of books on the other side of the door. He loaded his crossbow with another arrow as he watched the Scorpion squirm out from under the table. It looked around for 5, but when it didn't see him, it started to run back towards 6's hiding place. 5 shot it in the side with another arrow.

The Scorpion whipped around and, without hesitation, charged straight towards 5.

_Okay, now it's pissed,_ thought 5 as he reached into his quiver and grabbed another arrow.

Then the arrow got stuck, and 5 couldn't get it out. The Scorpion was halfway up the pile.

Abandoning the arrow, 5 reached for his spear. The Scorpion was almost on him when...

_WHAM!_

A large rock came flying out of nowhere and hit the Scorpion on the side of the head. The force of the impact knocked the Scorpion all the way back down the pile, giving 5 time to get the arrow unstuck and reload his crossbow.

Another rock came flying from the same direction and hit the Scorpion's side, leaving a large crack in it's exoskeleton.

5 looked up to see the twins on the floor above.

They had made a giant slingshot.

3 grabbed the center of a giant rubber band and pulled it all the way back. Then 4 came out of nowhere with a large rock the same size as his head. He put it in the slingshot, and they both let go. The rock sailed towards the Scorpion, but the beast was expecting it this time.

At the last second, the Scorpion jumped out of the way of the rock and shot an EMP blast at the twins. They didn't have time to jump out of the way, and they were both hit. They collapsed on the ground, out of sight, but 5 could still see them blinking their lights at each other. They weren't dead; simply paralyzed.

The Scorpion charged at 5 again, and he shot it again. The Scorpion didn't duck out of the way in time, and it got hit in the chest. It reared back, and that was when 5 saw the little square door on it's chest. That was where it was keeping 6's Keeper.

With steely determination, 5 unloaded another two arrows into it's chest, but when he reached back for a third one, he found nothing. His quiver was empty.

The Scorpion must have known this, because it started charging at 5 again. 5 dropped his crossbow and picked up his spear. Then he jumped from the pile he was standing on to a slightly taller pile adjacent to his. The Scorpion saw this and slammed it's remaining claw into the pile 5 was standing on. The books toppled over and landed right on the Scorpion. This also sent 5 flying back across the room, and he landed next to the table he had started under.

The Scorpion burst out from under the books, roaring in pain and fury. A loud crackling noise filled the air. 5 knew what was coming next. He looked around and saw one of the mirrors. He quickly scooped it up and held it in front of himself just as the Scorpion fired it's EMP.

The EMP impacted with the mirror so hard that it jerked backwards and slammed into 5, throwing him across the room. When he landed, his head hit the wall and he slumped over, unconscious.

The Scorpion smiled evilly and started advancing towards 5, it's entire body live with electricity.

That was when 2 came out of hiding. He ran at the Scorpion as fast as he could and sliced at it's tail with his spear, aiming for the chink.

He missed by a centimeter, but it was enough. Because he didn't hit the Scorpion's chink, he got electrocuted. The sheer amount of electricity sent him flying across the room where he landed on 1's throne, unconscious.

The Scorpion turned away from 5 and looked at 2, surprised that he had just knocked another stitchpunk out cold without even realizing it.

That was when he remembered why he was _really_ there.

The Scorpion turned and sprinted over to the small stack of books. He could see a definite heat signature coming from inside. With an evil smile, he knocked aside the books...

… and got attacked by 0.

The little bug lunged at the Scorpion's face, unaffected by the electricity. The Scorpion stumbled backwards as 0 tore at the exposed wires sticking out of it's head.

Finally the Scorpion managed to shake 0 off. When the little bug landed on the floor, the Scorpion hit it with it's claw, and 0 went flying across the room, landing who knows where.

The Scorpion turned back to the shelter, but it was empty. He could definitely see the heat signature where the sick one had been, but there was no one there.

What it didn't know was that, while it was fighting 5, 1 had snuck out of his hiding place and grabbed 6. He quickly carried 6 a few feet further along the wall until they reached a small hole in the wall, hidden by a piece of paper. 1 moved the paper and carried 6 inside. He set 6 down so that he was leaning against the wall.

"6?" he whispered. "Can you hear me?"

6 gave a small, weak nod, still trying to keep his eyes open. 1 looked at the back of 6's hand and saw that his temperature was still _149_.

That was when the Scorpion destroyed the pile of books and got attacked by 0. 1 looked out and watched as the Scorpion flung 0 across the room. Then the Scorpion started to look around, slowly scanning the area with it's heat vision.

1 gulped in fear. He knew that the Scorpion would be able to see 6 through the wall. Backing away from the entrance, 1 did the only thing he could think of. He took off his cape, which was still at room temperature, and held it up in front of himself and 6.

Outside, the Scorpion stopped. It used it's heat vision to see where the air was slightly hotter, moving away from the last spot 6 had been. He traced the slight heat over to the wall, right where 1 and 6 were hiding. However, thanks to the cape, the Scorpion couldn't see them. However, it could see exactly where the heat trail ended.

_There you are..._ the Scorpion hissed. It began charging up it's EMP.

Meanwhile, across the room, 5 was slowly coming back into consciousness. As soon as he opened his eyes, he shook off his throbbing headache and quickly looked around for the Scorpion.

That was when he saw it. The Scorpion was facing away from him and aiming at something 5 couldn't see. That was when he heard the familiar crackling of it's EMP, preparing to fire.

5 quickly stood up and spotted his spear. It had been cracked in half from the impact of the EMP, but it broke in the way 5 designed it to. He picked up the spear in one hand and the hatchet in the other. Then he ran towards the Scorpion.

He came up right behind it and, swinging his hatchet down, hit the Scorpion's chink perfectly, avoiding the electrical field and severing the Scorpion's tail right before it fired it's EMP.

The tail fell to the ground and immediately went lifeless. The Scorpion roared in pain and swung around. It hit 5 with it's only claw and sent him flying into the wall, where he landed right next to the entrance to the gap where 1 and 6 were hiding.

He looked up and saw the Scorpion standing and staring at him.

"What are you going to do now...?" 5 gasped, winded from the impact. "You're all out of tricks..."

That was when the Scorpion slowly started backing up. It backed up to the center of the room.

_What are you doing...?_ wondered 5.

Then something on the Scorpion's left arm moved. Something inside where the chain should have been. 5 didn't realize what it was until it was too late.

It was an arrow. His arrow. The arrow he had shot at the Scorpion when it had first tried to break into the Library.

The Scorpion fired the arrow right at 5.

Someone knocked him out of the way.

5 looked up and saw that it was 1. He expected to see 1 convulsing on the ground with the electrified arrow sticking out of his chest, but instead, 1 was on the ground next to 5, having fallen after knocking 5 out of the way. However, 1's new hat was pinned to the wall with an electrified arrow sticking out of it.

"It missed..." mumbled 5, quickly standing up and helping 1 to his feet.

Then 5 looked at the Scorpion. Maybe it was shocked that it had missed, or maybe it was calculating it's odds of escaping. Either way, it wasn't moving.

5 narrowed his eye and, picking up his spear and his hatchet, he slowly started walking towards the Scorpion. This caused the Scorpion to come back into reality. It's exoskeleton crackled with electricity. 5 snarled. Even when it was nearly defenseless, it was still untouchable.

And 6 only had minutes left.

That was when it happened. 7, 8, and 9 reached the roof. And the chink.

There was a loud _CRACK_ from up above. 5 looked up just in time to see water cascading down from the ceiling.

Right on top of the Scorpion.

The beast started convulsing as it's own electricity traveled through the rain water and right back through it's conductive exoskeleton. Sparks started flying out of the Scorpion's head and it started to smoke. However, it was still fighting. The flow of water slowly stopped, and the Scorpion slowly reached out towards 5 with it's remaining claw.

Snarling, 5 stepped forward and swung at the Scorpion's head with his hatchet. However, he swung his hatchet _up_ at the base of the Scorpion's neck. The hatchet connected...

… and 5 lopped off the Scorpion's head. It rolled on the floor and landed at 5's feet. Then it's glowing red eye finally turned black.

"It worked!" exclaimed a voice from a floor above. 5 looked up and saw 8 climbing down the elevator wires with 7 and 9 on his back. 7 was the one who had shouted.

"What did you do?" exclaimed 1.

"We found the chink," said 7 as they reached the ground. "The leak in the roof."

5's eye widened when he heard that. While they had been attacking the chinks in the Scorpion's armor, the others had attacked the chink in their _own_ armor.

And that had been what killed the Scorpion.

5 stepped towards the body, but he jumped back before stepping in the puddle of water around it.

"What's wrong?" asked a voice to 5's right. He looked over to see 2 coming over a mountain of books.

"The water's still electrified!" exclaimed 5 frantically.

That was when he heard two pairs of footsteps quickly coming towards the group. He looked over and saw the twins. 4 was carrying 0.

"0!" exclaimed 5. The bug jumped out of 4's arms and ran over to 5.

5 picked up his spear and, avoiding the water, jammed it in the little door to the Keeper compartment. The door swung open.

"Fetch!" exclaimed 5, pointing to the open door. 0 quickly scurried into the water, completely unaffected by the electricity. He climbed up and into the little compartment and emerged a moment later.

He had 6's Keeper in his mouth.

The bug jumped down and quickly ran back over to 5. As soon as 0 was out of the water, 5 grabbed 6's Keeper and sprinted back across the room. He saw 6 lying on his side inside the gap in the wall. 5 quickly grabbed 6 and pulled him out into the open.

Instead of untying the rope around 6's midsection, he simply cut it with his hatchet.

Then he pulled 6's fabric open and snapped his Keeper back in place.

The little fan started spinning immediately, trying desperately to cool 6 back down. 5 gently pulled 6 on his lap.

"6?" he whispered, cradling the trembling, unresponsive stitchpunk in his arms. "6, can you hear me...? You're going to be okay now..."

6 slowly opened his eyes, just enough to look up at 5. He smiled weakly, but his eyes showed his sadness.

"T-t-thanks..." he gasped out, his voice no more than a whisper.

5 smiled sadly. "Y-you're g-going to be okay..." he whispered.

6 weakly glanced down at his right hand. His temperature was still at _149_. It wasn't dropping.

"I-i-it's o-okay..." 6 whispered, looking back up at 5. "Y-you s-s-saved m-me..."

5 looked at 6's hands again before looking back up at 6.

"6..." he whispered, his voice cracking.

"I-I'm s-s-s-sorry..." 6 whispered, slowly closing his eyes. "S-so s-s-sorry... 5..."

Then 6 stopped shaking. He let out a long, soft sigh and went completely limp, his head rolling slightly to the side so that he was leaning against 5's chest.

5 looked down at 6's hand just in time to see 6's temperature jump to _150_. His pulse dropped to _0_.

And then the screens went dark.

And 6 died in 5's arms.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I was LITERALLY physically fighting with Elliq to finish this chapter..._

… _I'm gonna get so much hate for this._


	11. Saying Goodbye

_A/N: … This is the second to last chapter... Let me know if you cry at any point during it. Sorry if it's not 9,000 words long like the last chapter. Oh, and they got 6's real Keeper. It wasn't a decoy._

… _Also, I dare you to read this while listening to sad music._

* * *

><p><strong>Fever<strong>

5 sat on the floor, not moving, not even daring to breathe. The room had gone completely silent as the storm outside stopped, and the clouds parted to reveal the stars and the full moon. The candles that had illuminated the room slowly died out, and the room got considerably darker and colder.

None of this mattered to 5. The only thing he could look at was 6's body, lying limp in his arms.

"6...?" whispered 5, his voice cracking with sadness.

6 didn't move.

5 looked at his hands. The screen was still black, and he could feel 6's body starting to cool down.

"C'mon, 6..." whispered 5, choking back a sob. "D-don't do this..."

6's eyes remained closed.

That was when 5 heard multiple footsteps slowly making their way towards him. He looked up and saw the others. His eye found 2, and, seeing the look of utter hopelessness on 5's face, 2 rushed forward and knelt down across from 5, on the other side of the body.

2 looked at the screens on 6's hands, and then he looked at 6's Keeper. It was exactly where it belonged, but the little fan inside had stopped spinning.

"I was afraid this would happen..." said 2 quietly, slowly standing up and taking a few steps back, his eyes downcast.

"What?" exclaimed 5, trembling in fear and sadness. "W-what is it...?"

"Well, it takes a certain amount of energy to power a Keeper..." said 2, nervously wringing his hands, not taking his eyes off of his feet. "A-and... 6 didn't have enough energy left..." And then 2 looked directly at 5, his eyes sad and his shoulders slumped.

"We were too late..."

The room was plunged into silence again. A moment later, however, it was broken. The twins slowly moved forward, clinging to each other as they looked sadly at the body. They were both shaking. Suddenly, they stopped and, turning, dashed over to 7, who pulled them into a protective hug as they trembled with silent sobs.

That was when 0 stepped out of the shadows. The little bug quickly scurried up to 5 and 6. He gently nudged 6 in the side, trying to wake up his master.

Again, 6 didn't move. 0 whimpered loudly, but after a moment, he realized it was futile. 6 wasn't going to wake up ever again.

That was when it really sunk in for 5.

6 was dead. He was gone forever. They had been too late to save him.

"No..." 5 whispered, trembling even harder than before. "No, 6, please... Y-you can't do this... You have to wake up..."

5's breathing accelerated, and he felt like he was about to have a panic attack. He quickly shook his head, and if stitchpunks were physically capable of producing tears, then 5 would have had them streaming down his face.

Letting out a small, choked sob, 5 hugged the body tighter and laid his head on 6's still chest, trembling under the crushing weight of sadness and despair.

_This can't be happening..._ 5 thought frantically. _We can't be too late! He... he can't be gone!_

5 took a deep breath and tried to at least regain some of his composure, but he couldn't. They had tried so hard to save 6, but no matter how hard 5 tried, he didn't seem able to change fate.

6 could save someones life just by holding his breath. So why couldn't 5 have saved 6's life? He had killed the Scorpion, and even that hadn't been enough...

And now it was too late...

5 had promised 6 that he would be okay. He had _promised_ that he would save him! But he had failed.

"6..." he whispered, so quiet that none of the others could hear him. "If you can still hear me... I'm so sorry..."

5 slowly lifted his head to look at 6's face. And that's when it happened.

6 didn't move, but something else did. One final wisp of green smoke floated out of 6's slightly opened mouth. It flooded the darkening room with an eerie green light.

Once all of the smoke had escaped 6's body, it just hovered there instead of disappearing like the rest.

It was 6's sixth piece of his soul...

5 choked back a sob as he looked at the small, swirling green mist. Now there was no chance left that 6 would ever wake up. The last wisp of 5's hope had been blown away in the wind.

But then something happened. A bright green light shone from up above. 5 looked up and, much to his surprise, he saw five other spherical wisps of green smoke floating down through the ceiling. The other pieces of 6's soul.

Slowly, the other five wisps floated all the way to the ground. They then merged with the sixth wisp, forming a large cloud of green smoke. Finally, after a minute, all of the residual smoke rose up into the air, revealing a small, nearly transparent green figure sitting hunched over on the ground, facing away from the others.

Then the residual smoke floated back down and hovered around the glowing green figure's back. It formed a ghostly number that floated about an inch above the figure's back.

_6_

No one spoke. They were all waiting for 6's motionless soul to move.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, 5 spoke up.

"6...?" he whispered.

As if suddenly awakened, the ghost turned around and straightened up.

The look on 6's face was shock, but then the shock faded and his mouth stretched into a familiar lopsided smile.

5 couldn't help it. He smiled too, even though all he wanted to do was cry.

6's soul turned all the way around, and then he slowly pushed himself to his feet. He looked a little off balance, standing for the first time in days, and 5 could see how tired he looked. He also noticed that 6's soul was barely glowing bright enough to be seen.

Even 6's soul was weak and dying.

6 sadly smiled at 5 before turning to the others. He slowly took a few steps towards the twins, who cautiously turned around when they saw the green light.

When they recognized 6, however, they turned all the way around, their eyes wide and sad.

6 smiled tiredly and waved at them. The twins smiled sadly and waved back. 6 slowly held out his hands, and the twins reached out, one twin holding each hand. It was strange, as if they could physically feel 6's hand.

6 gave them both a reassuring nod. He was still trying to make the twins feel better, even after he was dead.

Slowly, he let go of the twins, and they backed up, back into 7's arms. 6 looked up at 7 and smiled sweetly, as if thanking her and telling her to look after the twins.

7 smiled sadly and hugged the twins a bit tighter.

6 slowly turned to look at 8 and 9. They were both sitting on the ground; well, 8 was sitting on his knees. 9 was barely conscious, leaning against 8 to stay upright. He was trembling with pain and clutching his mutilated arm to his chest.

6 knelt down in front of 9, his eyes wide. The others could see the look of pity he was giving 9. Slowly, 6 reached out with his ghostly hand and gently touched 9's uninjured shoulder. 9's eyes flashed green for a second, and then his eyes closed, he went limp, and his breathing slowed from fast and shallow to deep and even. He was asleep.

6 then looked up at 8, his face basically emotionless. 8 looked at the ground guiltily, but he looked back up when he felt 6's hand on his shoulder. 6 was smiling. 8 slowly smiled back, thinking of all the times he had bullied 6, and how sorry he was now. But 6 had forgiven him.

6 shakily stood back up and turned to 2. He slowly reached out his hand, and 2 took it, giving it a reassuring pat. 6 smiled and nodded. It seemed like he was thanking 2 for looking after him and trying to make his last few days a bit easier. 2 slowly nodded back. He then released 6's hand, and 6 turned to 1.

6 and 1 stood staring at each other for a moment. Finally, a smile slowly started to creep onto 6's face. For the first time in a long time, 1 smiled back.

Still smiling, 6 turned around and saw 0 sitting at his heels. He knelt down and gently scratched the cockroach's head. 0 chirped sadly.

6 glanced up at the twins and then looked back down at 0. The little bug sat at attention. 6 nodded towards the twins, and 0 seemed to get the message. He affectionately nudged 6's leg one last time before scuttling over to the twins. 4 picked him up and held him close.

Then 6 turned and finally came back to 5. He walked around his own body and knelt down so that he was right next to 5, who was still holding the body.

"6..." whispered 5, ready to start crying.

6 smiled sadly and nodded. He gently placed his hand on 5's shoulder, and 5 nearly started crying. It was taking every ounce of willpower he had left to keep from breaking down. 6 seemed to sense this, so he did the only thing he knew how to do when it came to calming a friend down.

He threw his arms around 5 and hugged him.

And then 5 broke.

He let out a choked sob and then hugged 6 back with his free arm. He didn't hug him too hard though, because he was afraid he would go through 6.

Then 5 realized something. It didn't feel like 6 was hugging him. Not really. It felt like 6 was hugging his soul.

After a moment, 6 sat back. He seemed to be glowing a bit brighter now, and he didn't look as tired. He took one last sad look at his body before slowly standing up. His hand reached for his neck as if he were about to tug on his key, which he did when he got anxious, but he realized that his key wasn't there. It wasn't on his body either.

That was when the twins moved. They scurried away and returned less than ten seconds later. 3 was holding 6's key. He slowly moved forward and, bending down, he clipped the key around 6's neck. 6's soul smiled a real, genuine smile when he saw this. 3 nodded and stepped back.

Satisfied that his key was back where it belonged, 6 looked back at 5. He gently placed his hand on 5's shoulder.

Then 5 heard his voice. The last words 6 would ever speak to him.

"_Let me go..."_ said the soft, haunting voice.

5 choked back another sob. And then, slowly, he nodded.

6 smiled, and he suddenly started to glow brighter. Green smoke started to swirl around him, and then, almost as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

And 6's soul was gone.

He was free now.

The room slowly got darker as the green light completely faded away. No one dared break the silence.

Then finally, 5 spoke up.

"W-we should give him a funeral..." he said quietly, not taking his eyes off of the spot where 6's soul had vanished. "He saved all of our lives... i-it's the least we could do for him."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw 2 step forward a bit.

"Tomorrow morning," said 2 quietly.

5 shook his head. "No... Tomorrow night. At sunset..." 5 sadly looked down at the body. "He loved sunsets..." he whispered, too quiet for the others to hear.

"Of course..." said 2, nodding. "Then we should probably get rid of the Scorpion tomorrow morning. Unless you want to keep the head and hang it on your wall."

5 didn't respond to 2's feeble attempt at a joke. His eye was fixed on 6. Or, more accurately, 6's key.

It had started to glow a faint green. The others took notice of this, and they all stopped and stared. 5 watched as the green slowly got brighter. Then two words appeared, inscribed on the side of the key.

"_Our Last..."_

The words glowed so bright that they brought green light back to the room. The green glow slowly spread, turning the fabric of 6's chest and neck slightly green.

And then it stopped. The green light disappeared, plunging the room back into darkness.

5 sat stone still, not daring to breathe.

And then another faint green light started shining. 5 looked for the source of the light, but it wasn't the key.

It was the screen on the back of 6's right hand.

The glowing green numbers said _140_.

And then 6's fingers twitched.

5 gasped, his eye wide. He looked at 6's face.

"6...?" he whispered.

And then 6 slowly let out a low moan and moved his head a bit.

Then he blinked his eyes open.

"6!" exclaimed 5, hugging the little stitchpunk for all he was worth.

6 was alive.

"5..." whispered 6, sounding completely exhausted.

5 looked at 6's temperature and saw that it had dropped down to _139_. His pulse had risen to _11_.

"You're alive!" gasped 5, ready to cry from relief. He looked up at the others, who all had the same shocked yet happy look on their faces. He then looked back down at 6.

6 smiled his familiar lopsided smile.

"Y-you changed fate..." he whispered to 5.

And then he fell into the deepest and most peaceful sleep he'd ever had in his entire life.

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><p><em>AN: This, ladies and gentlemen, is what I like to call the perfect example of a Qille moment, or "Pulling a Qille" as some say._

_But 6 is ALIVE! HE'S ALIVE!_

_Oh, and that thing with "Our Last..." inscribed on the key is from this oneshot I wrote called "I Know Your Source". _

_But I'm sad to say that the next chapter will be the last. I love you all. Goodnight! _


	12. One Last Sunset

_A/N: The last chapter of Fever. IT'S SO SAAAAAD! I loved writing this story so much, and I hope you did too! You guys have been so supportive, and I hope you stick around for the sequel! I'll try and get it posted as soon as I take care of all my other poor neglected stories. So... enjoy the final chapter of Fever! Peace, Love, and Stitchpunks!_

_Oh, and one more thing: if EVERYBODY who watches this story reviews it, then we'll be able to get to 100 reviews! So, please please pretty please review! Thanks!_

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><p><strong>Fever<strong>

6's deep, peaceful sleep turned out to be a coma. He slept for three days, and on the fourth day, he finally woke up.

He slowly blinked his eyes open and glanced around. He was in 2's workshop. No one else was there except for 0.

6 slowly sat up, and 0 jumped on his chest, nearly knocking him back down. The bug chirped happily, and 6 scratched his back to calm him down.

"I'm okay, buddy..." said 6 tiredly, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Once he managed to calm 0 down enough, he looked down at himself. The wound on his midsection had been tightly sewn back up, this time with his Keeper on the inside. He looked at his temperature.

_85_

Still a bit higher than normal, but 6 figured that would happen. He doubted he would ever be able to get his temperature back to normal. He looked at his pulse and saw that it was _65_.

Slowly, 6 sat up all the way. He was still incredibly weak, and he figured it would take him a while to get his strength back.

That was when he saw it.

His foot twitched.

6 sat bolt upright, now very awake, and cautiously flexed his feet.

They moved.

He reached down at touched his leg. He could feel it. He wasn't paralyzed any more!

A wide grin stretching across his face, he cautiously swung his legs over the edge of the bed and rested them on the floor, simply excited by the fact that he could at least _feel_ the floor. He glanced at 0 and then quickly stood up...

...only to collapse on his knees, a sharp pain spreading through his right leg.

"Maybe you should try taking it a bit slower next time," said a voice from the other side of the room. 6 looked up and saw 5.

Smiling, 5 moved forward, gently lifted 6 off the ground, and set him on the bed. As soon as 6 was sitting, he threw his arms around 5, hugging him as tight as he could. 5 immediately returned the hug.

After a minute, 5 let go and then sat down on a block of wood next to the bed.

"I'm so glad you're okay," said 5, a wide grin splitting across his face. However, his grin faded. "Do you remember what happened?" he asked, almost nervously.

6 thought back for a moment before slowly nodding. "I-it's a bit blurry..." he muttered. He foggily remembered heat and pain, and then darkness. Anything after that was all gone.

"So... what _did_ happen...?" 6 asked after a minute.

5 looked down at his feet, nervously tapping on his leg. "Well, we killed the Scorpion, and 0 got your Keeper back. But... well... w-we installed it too late, a-and..." 5 stopped, unsure if he should continue.

"I can handle it..." said 6 quietly, sensing 5's reluctance to continue speaking.

5 glanced at 6 before looking back at his feet. After a moment, he finally said what 6 had suspected.

"Y-you died..."

6 was quiet for a moment, his face blank. 0 crawled up next to him, and 6 pulled him onto his lap.

Finally, after a minute, 6 spoke up again.

"Then what happened?" he asked quietly, looking down at 0.

"Well... the last piece of your soul came out, and all the other pieces joined back together... A-and then you were there and you said goodbye to everyone, and then you disappeared..."

6 nodded after a moment. "Anything else?" he asked.

5 looked up at him, slightly confused. "What?" he asked.

"What else happened...?" asked 6, a hidden meaning behind his question.

"Uh, y-your key started glowing green, and then it stopped and you woke up..." said 5, weakly shrugging.

6 nodded and fingered the key around his neck. "Oh..." he muttered. "That explains it..."

"What?" asked 5.

6 didn't answer. Instead, he asked: "Do you know Harry Potter?"

5 simply stared at him.

"It's a book," explained 6. "The twins showed me... There's this... thing... called a horcrux."

"A _what_?"

"Horcrux. A thing that holds a piece of soul..." 6 looked up at 5. "My key is a horcrux... It held a piece of my soul..."

5 nodded a bit, only understanding a bit. He would have to ask the twins later.

"So... your key held a piece of your soul, and after you died, we put your key back on, and then you came back to life...?" said 5, working it out.

6 nodded. "But... that's not enough... What else happened? When I was dead?"

"Well, you put 9 in a coma for about two days..." said 5.

"Oops..." muttered 6. "Did I... come in contact with anyone...?"

"Uh, just about everyone," said 5. "There was a lot of hand holding and hugging."

6's eyes widened. "Oh..." he mumbled. "Sorry about that..."

5 narrowed his eye. "About what...?"

"My... my soul was... gathering strength... by borrowing a bit of energy..." he said, looking down at his feet guiltily. "Once it was strong enough... it used my key to come back..."

"So that's why you disappeared..." muttered 5, the pieces of the puzzle coming together after days of waiting.

6 nodded. Then he looked down at his legs for a moment before looking back up at 5. "What's wrong with my leg?" he asked.

Now it was 5's turn to look guilty. "Well... after you fell asleep, we brought you up here to fix your legs and give you the feeling back... but... there was one thing we couldn't fix..."

6 tilted his head a bit, confused.

"The Fever partially melted one of the wires in your knee," 5 explained, gesturing to 6's right knee. "We've got the wires to replace the damaged one, but the problem is... well, we can't get to the wire without taking your leg off..."

6's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. "I'm fine..." he said quickly. "Doesn't hurt..."

5 nodded and smiled slightly. "I thought you'd say that. That's why I made this while you were sleeping..." 5 quickly stood up and walked out of the room. He returned a moment later with something in his hands. He handed the long thin object to 6.

That was when 6 realized what it was. It was a crutch, made out of thin aluminum tubes and several pieces of wire and cloth, along with a small piece of rubber at the end.

"Give it a try," said 5, coming over to 6's left side. 6 cautiously put the crutch on the ground and, with 5's help, he stood up, leaning heavily on his crutch, which was the perfect height for him. Slowly, 5 let go of his arm, and he was standing on his own for the first time in more than a week. 0, who was standing at 6's heels, bounced up and down in excitement.

Then 6 slowly started walking. He was shaky at first, but after a moment, his legs finally remembered how to walk. He had to adjust because of his crutch, but he would make it work. Being crippled was better than being paralyzed.

"Can we go downstairs?" 6 asked eagerly.

5 laughed a bit and nodded. "Sure," he said, gesturing to the waiting elevator.

Smiling, 6 quickly limped into the elevator. 5 entered right behind him and closed the door. He moved over to the lever and pulled it, disengaging the breaks. As the elevator started to slowly lower down, however, 6 gasped and grabbed onto the edge with his left hand, suddenly getting hit with vertigo.

"6?" asked 5, noticing 6's death grip on the rim of the bucket elevator. He also noticed how 6 had his eyes squeezed shut. "Are you okay?"

After a moment, the feeling faded and 6 was able to open his eyes without feeling nauseated. "I'm fine..." he muttered. "Just... vertigo..."

5 nodded. "I'm not surprised," he said.

6 looked up at him. "Why?" he asked.

"When we were running from the Scorpion, we all got in the elevator and let it free fall," explained 5. "You're probably still remembering that..."

6 slowly nodded, but he didn't release his grip on the elevator's side until it had safely touched down on the ground floor. 6 quickly stepped out of the elevator...

… and was instantly ambushed by the twins. They hugged him so hard that he would have fallen over had they not been holding onto him. 0 happily ran around in circles at their feet.

As soon as the twins let go, 6 was hugged from behind; the hug was so powerful that he felt something inside his chest bend a little bit before snapping back into place when the stitchpunk hugging him released him. That was when he got to see who it was. It was 7.

"I can't believe you're alive!" she exclaimed happily, pulling 6 into another death hug.

Suddenly, 9 and 2 came out of nowhere and joined the hug. 5 and the twins were starting to feel left out, so they piled on top. Then 6 had the strangest sense of déjà vu when 8 came up behind them and lifted them all up off the ground in one massive hug that nearly crushed him. It was just like when he had woken up with the Fever, except happier, now that he knew that he wouldn't die.

After a minute, 8 set everyone back on the ground. That was when 6 noticed 1, slowly walking towards the group. Once he reached them, he opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted when 6 suddenly rushed forward and hugged him. 1 stood absolutely still for a minute before slowly returning the hug.

"D'aww..." muttered 8.

After a minute, 6 stepped back and looked at everyone else who had gathered. None of them looked much worse for wear, except for 9. He still looked slightly off balance, and all of the burlap below the elbow on his left arm had been replaced by burlap of a slightly lighter color.

Suddenly, 6 saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked up and saw the window. Outside, the sun was starting to set, turning the cloudy sky a brilliant bright red. 6 quickly limped over to the table under the window, which the others had somehow managed to repair after the attack.

Using a large pile of books, 6 climbed up onto the table and stood at the windowsill, watching as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon. That was when he realized that he wasn't alone. All of the others had followed him, and only then did 6 realize that they were all standing at the window with him.

Slowly, a smile crept onto 6's face, and he and the rest of his family watched as the sun sank until it was just barely visible. Then, just as the last rays of the glowing orange orb disappeared, a brilliant flash of green shot through the sky, seeming to come from the sun itself. For a split second, it turned the entire sky bright green. The same color as a soul. And then the sky went dark.

6's smile widened. It was almost as if his sunsets were welcoming him back...

* * *

><p>The night was dark and peaceful. A gentle wind blew across the Emptiness. A few stray clouds drifted across the brightly shining moon. Everything was quiet...<p>

… until 6 woke up in a panic. He sat bolt upright in his bed, shaking and gasping for breath. The movement woke 0, who quickly jumped up on 6's bed and crawled up onto his lap.

6 quickly picked 0 up and set him down on the bed next to him. Then he rolled off of his bed and onto the floor, where a large blank piece of paper was waiting. He quickly scribbled down what he had seen. Once he finished, he sat back and looked at what he had drawn.

The creature had a small circular head with a larger circular body. It had six legs, three on each side of the body. The legs were razor sharp and most likely serrated. It had three sharp and tiny spikes with hooks on the end running down the center of it's back. It had three circular eyes, the one in the center larger than the other two. Above each eye was a small horn. It had three fangs with the center one being much larger. Three sharp spikes protruded from it's chest below it's head. The creature ended up looking like some kind of terrifying mutant spider.

6 stared at the picture for a moment before turning to his wall. He found an empty space right above the floor, which was convenient because his crutch was on the other side of the room. 6 crawled over to the wall and started to hang the picture up... but he stopped. He looked over at 0, who was sitting on his bed, watching curiously. Then, after a moment, 6 backed away from the wall and crawled back over to his own bed. Once he got there, he lifted up the cotton socks that served as his mattress and gently placed the picture under it. He then gently lowered the sock back down on top of the picture so that the ink, which was still damp, wouldn't smear. He looked up at 0 and slowly put one finger to his lips, the universal sign to remain quiet. 0 tilted his head a bit and then jumped down off of 6's bed and returned to his own bed.

Smiling tiredly, 6 climbed back up into his bed and curled up on his side, immediately falling asleep. His last thought was that he shouldn't tell the others. It probably wouldn't happen anyways.

There was no need to worry anyone...

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><p><em>AN: … and it's done. I can't believe it... When did I start this story?! February?! It's been an awesome six months, hasn't it... Thank you all for the support! I love you all! And remember: REVIEW! Let's see if we can make it to 100! =D_

_There will be a sequel to this story. It'll be called Infection, and I'll hopefully have it up soon._

_Once again, I hope you all enjoyed this story. Check out some of my other stories if you want more. I've got plenty to choose from._

_So... see ya guys in the next story!_

_~Qille out! =D_


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